Birmingham earthquake: 6.8 magnitude earthquake and SL – what happened in the West Midlands?

Residents of Birmingham, Wolverhampton and Dudley felt the tremors from the earthquake

The earthquake occurred in Walsall, near Birmingham (Photo: Darren Staples/AFP via Getty Images)

An earthquake struck last night (Monday 21 February) in the West Midlands in the town of Walsall, near Birmingham.

The earthquake comes after the UK is still recovering from the effects of Storm Dudley, Storm Eunice and Storm Franklin, which all hit the country over the course of a week.

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This is what you need to know.

what happened?

According to BGS, the earthquake hit the town of Walsall, near Birmingham, at a depth of seven kilometers (4.35 miles) at 10.59 pm.

The service said the effects of the quake were felt within a radius of 20 km from the epicenter, where residents of Birmingham, Wolverhampton and Dudley monitored the tremors.

The earthquakes were felt by residents of Birmingham, Wolverhampton and Dudley (Photo: Justin Thales/AFP via Getty Images)

Affected residents told BGS that the quake shook their homes, while one said it “was like a wardrobe that fell or an explosion in the window”.

BGS said the quake was about 13 kilometers (eight miles) east of the 4.7-magnitude Dudley earthquake, which was felt across most of England when it struck on September 22, 2002.

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How often do earthquakes occur in the UK?

According to BGS data, between 200 and 300 earthquakes are detected each year in the UK, but only 20-30 are actually felt by people. A few hundred small earthquakes also occur each year, but they are only recorded by sensitive instruments.

While most of these earthquakes are small and cause little damage, some earthquakes in the UK have caused extensive damage – however, BGS says that even the damage caused is “not comparable to the devastation caused by large earthquakes in other parts of the world”.

Research indicates that the largest potential earthquake that could occur in the UK would be around 6.5 on the Richter scale.

According to BGS, most earthquakes in the UK occur on the western side of the British mainland, and are almost completely absent from eastern Scotland, northeastern England and Northern Ireland.

What is the largest earthquake in the United Kingdom?

The largest known British earthquake occurred in 1931, near Dogger Bank with a magnitude of 6.1.

The earthquake occurred 60 miles offshore, but was still strong enough to cause some damage to buildings on the east coast of England at the time.

While this was the largest earthquake ever experienced in the UK, the one that caused the most damage in Britain was the one in Colchester in 1884, causing about 1,200 buildings to need repair.

What is the largest earthquake in the world?

According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the largest earthquake ever recorded occurred in 1960, known as the Valdivia earthquake or the Great Chilean Earthquake, and it occurred in Bio Bio, Chile.

It measured 9.5 and lasted about 10 minutes when it happened around 3:11 p.m. local time.

The tsunami was caused by the earthquake that severely affected the Chilean coast, causing waves up to 25 meters (or 82 feet).

It is unclear how many died as a result of the earthquake, with various estimates ranging from 1,000 to 6,000.

What causes earthquakes?

Earthquakes are caused by sudden movements along faults within the earth.

BGS says this motion “releases ‘elastic stress’ energy stored in the form of seismic waves, which propagate through the Earth and cause the Earth’s surface to vibrate.”

Earth’s tectonic plates always move slowly, but their edges can be disrupted by friction—when the pressure accumulating on the edge overcomes the friction, an earthquake occurs.

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