A village in Lancashire has experienced its second earthquake in just over two weeks, with residents reporting rattling and shaking in the early hours of the morning. The 2.5-magnitude tremor struck Silverdale, a coastal village five miles south of the Cumbria border, at 5.03am on [date]. Its epicentre was located 1.6 miles (2.6km) off the coast.
The British Geological Survey (BGS) has confirmed that this earthquake is likely an aftershock of the 3.3-magnitude quake that hit the same area on 3 December. That earlier event was the strongest earthquake in England since a magnitude 3.3 tremor in Staffordshire in 2023. No injuries or property damage have been reported from either earthquake.
Residents described varying experiences of the recent tremor, with some reporting a “quick sharp shaking jolt” accompanied by a “thunder noise”, while others noted a “huge bang” and “loud boom” that shook bedroom windows and rattled radiators and pictures. One local resident commented online: “Woke me up. Sounded like a short rumbling in the distance... Only lasted a couple of seconds. Nothing like the intensity of the previous one.”
The BGS noted that it is “not unusual” for aftershocks to occur in the weeks or months following a larger earthquake. Earthquakes in Britain are relatively rare, with the country experiencing between 200 and 300 tremors annually, of which only about 10% are strong enough to be felt without specialist equipment.
