The epicentre was in Lancashire
A 3.3-magnitude earthquake struck North West England, startling residents across a wide area late at night. The tremor was registered by the British Geological Society (BGS), which confirmed that dozens of people reported feeling the shaking. The quake’s epicentre was confirmed to be off the coast of Silverdale, Lancashire, causing no major damage.
- Earthquake Details: A 3.3-magnitude earthquake struck North West England late on Thursday evening, December 4, with preliminary data suggesting it occurred at 11:23 pm . The BGS located the epicentre off the coast of Silverdale, Lancashire , at a shallow depth of 1.86 miles (3km).
- Widespread Impact: Dozens of residents reported that the tremor shook their homes and woke them up across the region. The shaking was felt primarily within a 20km radius of the epicentre, including towns like Kendal and Ulverston in neighbouring Cumbria.
- Public Reaction: Numerous comments posted online described the earthquake as feeling like “an explosion and vibration coming from underground” or sounding like “bricks falling/the roof falling in.” Some unverified reports suggested shaking was felt as far away as the Fylde Peninsula.
- UK Context: The BGS detects between 200 and 300 earthquakes in the UK each year, but only 20 to 30 of those are actually felt by people. The majority of these British tremors are very small and cause no physical damage.
- Geological Background: The region has experienced tremors before, with previous earthquakes linked to fracking activities, including one in 2019 near Blackpool. However, the BGS also registers tremors caused by human activity, such as football crowd celebrations.
- Comparison to Previous Quake: The 3.3-magnitude quake is the strongest recorded in the area since October, when a 3.7-magnitude tremor was registered near Loch Lyon in Scotland. The BGS registered the most recent earthquake at several seismic stations around the northwest of England.