A 3.3 Magnitude earthquake hit parts of Staffordshire this week with residents feeling a “shunt” and hearing “rumbling then a bang”.
The British Geological Survey (BGS) posted details of the earthquake on its Twitter page, giving followers a more detailed take on what happened.
The earthquake was felt in Tean, Staffordshire on Wednesday, June 28 at 8.21pm.
The intensity of the earthquake was recorded as 3 EMS.
SEISMIC ALERT: TEAN, STAFFORDSHIRE 28 JUNE 2023 20:21 UTC 3.3 ML
— British Geological Survey (@BritGeoSurvey) June 28, 2023
ORIGIN TIME: 20:21 14.1s UTC
LAT/LONG: 52.922° North / 1.950° West
GRID REF: 403.4 kmE / 336.1 kmN
DEPTH: 7.3 km
MAGNITUDE: 3.3 ML
LOCALITY: Tean, Staffordshire
INTENSITY: 3 EMS pic.twitter.com/S3ihZN9w5R
People took to Twitter to share their experiences with the earthquake, which is thought to have also been felt in areas such as Stoke-on-Trent and Walsall.
BGS also shared that it had received reports from residents who felt the earthquake as it happened.
In another tweet, BGS said: “BGS have received several reports from residents throughout the region, mainly from within around 20km of the epicentre.”
Residents told BGS that they had experienced "an initial rumbling then a bang" and that the earthquake "felt more like a shunt, like something had hit something”.
Reports also said "the windows and doors all rattled".
We have had reports of an earthquake around the Stoke-on-Trent region. We are just verifying the reporte and will post further details in due course.
— British Geological Survey (@BritGeoSurvey) June 28, 2023
Are earthquakes rare in the UK?
The BGS website says: “Earthquakes have a significant impact on people and infrastructure, both in the UK and worldwide.
“While damaging earthquakes are relatively rare in the UK, there are a number of well-documented examples over the past few hundred years”.
The website adds: “Seismic waves from earthquakes contain information about both the earthquakes themselves and the structure and properties of the Earth.
“By analysing seismic waves recorded by this network of sensors, we can construct 3D images and infer values of crucial parameters of the subsurface”.
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