Lancashire shaken by earthquake that 'made a noise of thunder'

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Lancashire was hit by a 2.5 magnitude earthquake early on Friday morning.

The quake rocked the village of Silverdale at around 5am, and tremors were reported as far away as Blackpool and Flockburgh.

The British Geological Survey said the quake was felt in the Morecambe Bay area, with residents describing a “fast and sharp tremor” accompanied by a “thunder noise”, and others reporting that radiators and photographs shook.

“The noise was like a crash. I thought it might have been something falling on the house like a tree,” one person said.

Another said: “It woke us up and it felt like an explosion and the radiators and pictures shook.”

The earthquake comes two weeks after another 3.3 magnitude earthquake in the same area.

The British Geological Survey told The Independent that last night's earthquake was considered an “aftershock” of that stronger event, and that the two incidents were linked.

The previous earthquake occurred off the coast of Silverdale, on Wednesday, December 3, at a depth of 1.86 miles. This morning's earthquake was at a depth of 1.61 miles, and in the same area.

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Silverdale in Lancashire is the village closest to the epicenter (PA Wire)

Locals near the epicenter of the previous quake told BGS: “It felt like an underground explosion” and it was “so strong that it shook the whole house.”

The BGS seismic team told The Independent that the quakes were due to “movement on a previously unknown fault”.

“The pressures causing this are caused by the movement of tectonic plates,” they said.

While the official epicenter of last night's quake was close to the previous quake – “less than two kilometers away”, the team said it could actually be “the same place within our uncertain location”.

“The event that occurred last night was an aftershock following the event that occurred in the same area earlier this month. Aftershocks are not unusual,” they said.

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Data indicates the earthquake occurred off the coast of Silverdale (Richard McCarthy/PA) (PA Wire)

Seismologists said those concerned about whether the ground was actually still standing in the Lancashire area should not worry.

“Earthquakes occurring across the UK are within the expected amount of activity. While earthquakes are spread nationally throughout the year, it is common for small clusters of earthquakes to occur regionally.”

They added: “Although the events in Lancashire were not small by British standards, they are nowhere near the magnitude of earthquakes found in other parts of the world.”

The BGS records between 200 and 300 earthquakes across the UK each year, but usually only 20 to 30 are strong enough for people to feel them. Most tremors are so small that they can only be detected by monitoring equipment, and the vast majority cause little or no damage.

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