A 2.2 magnitude earthquake was recorded in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, on Tuesday evening (August 25), according to the British Geological Survey. Local residents in the east coast town, along with neighbouring Cleethorpes and surrounding areas, reported sensing the tremor shortly before 7.50pm. The earthquake's depth was recorded at 5km, reports the Manchester Evening News.
Residents report 'shakes' and 'rumbles'
Residents turned to social media to report experiencing 'shakes' and 'rumbles' last night. One stated: "I felt what felt like a really quick shake in my house, I thought something heavy had fallen down upstairs or in the loft."
Another remarked: "Felt a bang like the house being hit". One person posted on Facebook: "Felt the house shake and rumble". Another resident commented: "I heard a deep rumble, I thought it was thunder."
UK seismic activity context
British Geological Survey data estimates that there were more than 300 earthquakes recorded in the UK last year, with the two largest taking place just hours apart near Loch Lyon in Perth and Kinross, Scotland, when a 3.7 magnitude tremor was registered on October 20, followed by one of 3.6.
Despite being a nearly everyday occurrence, only about 20 to 30 earthquakes are felt or heard by UK residents, the British Geological Survey says.
Rarity of larger quakes
With this recent quake scoring 2.2 on the Richter scale, a magnitude-four event in the UK is rare, occurring every three or four years. A magnitude-five event strikes every few decades while a magnitude-six earthquake is likely to take place every few hundred years.
The largest known earthquake in the UK occurred in 1931, near the Dogger Bank, in the North Sea off the coast of Yorkshire.
