UK News

Earthquake wakes up Britain (1st Lead)

Feb 27, 2008, 4:01 GMT

London - Britain's strongest earthquake in nearly 25 years woke up people across the country Wednesday morning, officials said. The earthquake measuring 4.7 on the Richter Scale, according to the US Geological Survey, struck at 0100 GMT with the epicentre 48 kilometres south of Hull, east Yorkshire, 205 kilometres north of London. The British Geological Survey (BGS) said the earthquake was 5.3 magnitude and the epicentre was in Market Rasen in Lincolnshire. An elderly man suffered leg injuries when a chimney collapsed in Wombwell in South Yorkshire, reported BBC. The tremor was felt from Manchester, Birmingham, Newcastle, to the Midlands and from London. John Jenkin, from Bourne in Lincolnshire, was woken by the tremors and said that objects had fallen from his shelves, according to the Press Association. 'I was woken up. It was hell,'' said Jenkin. 'The police around here suddenly became very busy.' Wednesday morning's tremor was the strongest since a magnitude quake of 5.4 struck north Wales in 1984. The strongest earthquake recorded in Britain was on June 7, 1931 and measured 6.1 with an epicentre north-east of Great Yarmouth in the North Sea.

UK News

Earthquake wakes up Britain (1st Lead)

On the Web

Your Talkback on this Story

Similar articles

Latest Headlines in UK

Older Talkback

Like M&C on Facebook

Viral Web

In Monsters and Critics

Corporate

The Fine Print