A magnitude 2.7 earthquake struck a beauty spot in Wales yesterday afternoon, marking the largest quake recorded in the country this year.
The tremor was recorded at around 4pm between the hamlet of Talyllyn, next to Llyn Mwyngil, and Abergynolwyn in the south of Gwynedd. According to the British Geological Survey (BGS), it occurred at a depth of around 14km.
Locals report rumble and trembling furniture
Several people living nearby took to Facebook to describe feeling the tremor. One wrote: "We definitely felt and heard it in Friog… a deep rumble and our outdoor seating trembled as we sat outside having a cup of tea! The dog cowered under the table too!"
Another said: "Mentioned to my kids that I thought I'd just heard an earthquake rumble. Nobody believed me." While a third wrote: "We heard a very unusual deep rumbling noise in Ganllwyd... It was enough to make us stop and wonder what had happened."
Recent seismic activity in the UK
This comes after a larger earthquake struck off the coast of Lincolnshire. The 3.3 magnitude tremor hit the North Sea at a depth of 11km at around 1:04pm on September 18, according to the BGS.
Earthquake monitoring site VolcanoDiscovery said people in Chapel St Leonards, Ingoldmells, Mablethorpe and Skegness may have experienced "very weak shaking", while the tremor was unlikely to have been felt as far away as Grimsby, Cleethorpes and Boston.
According to the BGS, 309 earthquakes were recorded across the UK last year, with many too small to be felt. Larger magnitude 4 earthquakes happen roughly every three to four years.
Historical context of UK earthquakes
The biggest known earthquake in the UK struck the Dogger Bank area of the North Sea on June 7, 1931. Its epicentre was around 120km north-east of Great Yarmouth, but the quake was felt across much of Britain and parts of northern Europe, with damage reported in 71 places. In Filey, the top of a church spire was rotated, while chimneys and plaster were damaged in several other towns.
The last magnitude 5 earthquake recorded in the UK was in Lincolnshire in 2008. The BGS says Britain typically experiences a magnitude 5 earthquake every 10 to 20 years.
