mrolinc
28th April 2007, 09:48
http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,70131-1263216,00.html
An earthquake with a magnitude of at least 4.7 has shaken southern England.
The US Geological Survey pinpoints the quake
The US Geological Survey pinpoints the quake
The quake struck at 8.18am, 15 miles south of Canterbury and at least 4.4 miles deep, according to the US Geological Survey.
The European monitoring station said the magnitude of the quake was 5.0.
Kent Fire and Rescue Service said it had taken more than a 100 emergency calls and was dealing with "several incidents".
Most involved reports of structural damage to buildings
There have also been reports of chimneys falling down, while power and phone supplies have been lost in a number of towns.
It is understood householders felt the tremor further afield including in East Sussex, Essex and Suffolk.
Eurostar said that the tremor had not affected services across the Channel.
Kent police have advised people to stay indoors unless they have structural damage to their homes.
People are urged to contact authorities if they can smell gas.
Residents said when they heard the initial bang they feared an explosion at the Dungeness nuclear power facility.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/6602677.stm
Earthquake shakes parts of Kent
A seismograph
The tremor has registered a magnitude of 4.7
An earthquake with a magnitude of at least 4.3 has shaken buildings in parts of Kent.
The fire service said it had received calls from people in Folkestone and nearby areas reporting large cracks in house walls and chimneys falling down.
The tremor at 0818 BST, which lasted a few seconds, was felt as far afield as Essex, East Sussex and Suffolk.
The British Geological Survey said it was the largest British earthquake since the one which hit Dudley in 2002.
EDF Energy said several thousand homes are now without power in the Folkestone and Dover area.
Randy Baldwin from the US Geological Survey, which monitors earthquakes, said the tremor had a preliminary magnitude of 4.7.
He added that the epicentre of the tremor was measured as being located 15 miles (25km) south of Canterbury and had a depth of 6.2 miles (10km).
Significant tremor
The European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre's website said a tremor of 5.0 magnitude had been recorded at around 4.3 miles (7 km) south east of Ashford.
David Booth of the British Geological Survey said the tremor was of a sizeable magnitude.
Map of Kent
"It's certainly the largest in the UK since an earthquake in Dudley in the West Midlands in 2002 and that also caused damage. So this is a very significant tremor."
Kent Fire and Rescue Service said it had received more than a 100 emergency calls and was having to deal with "several incidents".
Most of these were reports of structural damage, but a fire engine had also been sent to Folkestone to investigate a "smell of gas".
EDF said it had despatched engineers but currently had no timetable for when power might be restored.
A Eurostar spokesman said everything was "running normally" on the Channel Tunnel.
Violent shaking
Sharon Hayles, from Stanford near the Eurotunnel terminal at Folkestone, said her house slid from side to side for about 10 to 15 seconds.
Another Folkestone man told BBC Five Live Breakfast that his whole house "shook quite violently".
Eyewitness Lorraine Muir said: "We've been evacuated by the Sally Army; we've got no gas or electricity."
Paul Smye-Rumsby, who lives in Dover, said: "It was about 08.15 when suddenly the bed shook violently.
"I thought my wife had got cramp or something but then I saw the curtains were moving and the whole house was shaking. It lasted about 1.5 seconds.
"All the power is off and we have got the portable radio on. People are standing outside talking to each other about it."
Pretty suprising, anyone feel any of this? this morning at around quater past 8 :omg:
An earthquake with a magnitude of at least 4.7 has shaken southern England.
The US Geological Survey pinpoints the quake
The US Geological Survey pinpoints the quake
The quake struck at 8.18am, 15 miles south of Canterbury and at least 4.4 miles deep, according to the US Geological Survey.
The European monitoring station said the magnitude of the quake was 5.0.
Kent Fire and Rescue Service said it had taken more than a 100 emergency calls and was dealing with "several incidents".
Most involved reports of structural damage to buildings
There have also been reports of chimneys falling down, while power and phone supplies have been lost in a number of towns.
It is understood householders felt the tremor further afield including in East Sussex, Essex and Suffolk.
Eurostar said that the tremor had not affected services across the Channel.
Kent police have advised people to stay indoors unless they have structural damage to their homes.
People are urged to contact authorities if they can smell gas.
Residents said when they heard the initial bang they feared an explosion at the Dungeness nuclear power facility.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/6602677.stm
Earthquake shakes parts of Kent
A seismograph
The tremor has registered a magnitude of 4.7
An earthquake with a magnitude of at least 4.3 has shaken buildings in parts of Kent.
The fire service said it had received calls from people in Folkestone and nearby areas reporting large cracks in house walls and chimneys falling down.
The tremor at 0818 BST, which lasted a few seconds, was felt as far afield as Essex, East Sussex and Suffolk.
The British Geological Survey said it was the largest British earthquake since the one which hit Dudley in 2002.
EDF Energy said several thousand homes are now without power in the Folkestone and Dover area.
Randy Baldwin from the US Geological Survey, which monitors earthquakes, said the tremor had a preliminary magnitude of 4.7.
He added that the epicentre of the tremor was measured as being located 15 miles (25km) south of Canterbury and had a depth of 6.2 miles (10km).
Significant tremor
The European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre's website said a tremor of 5.0 magnitude had been recorded at around 4.3 miles (7 km) south east of Ashford.
David Booth of the British Geological Survey said the tremor was of a sizeable magnitude.
Map of Kent
"It's certainly the largest in the UK since an earthquake in Dudley in the West Midlands in 2002 and that also caused damage. So this is a very significant tremor."
Kent Fire and Rescue Service said it had received more than a 100 emergency calls and was having to deal with "several incidents".
Most of these were reports of structural damage, but a fire engine had also been sent to Folkestone to investigate a "smell of gas".
EDF said it had despatched engineers but currently had no timetable for when power might be restored.
A Eurostar spokesman said everything was "running normally" on the Channel Tunnel.
Violent shaking
Sharon Hayles, from Stanford near the Eurotunnel terminal at Folkestone, said her house slid from side to side for about 10 to 15 seconds.
Another Folkestone man told BBC Five Live Breakfast that his whole house "shook quite violently".
Eyewitness Lorraine Muir said: "We've been evacuated by the Sally Army; we've got no gas or electricity."
Paul Smye-Rumsby, who lives in Dover, said: "It was about 08.15 when suddenly the bed shook violently.
"I thought my wife had got cramp or something but then I saw the curtains were moving and the whole house was shaking. It lasted about 1.5 seconds.
"All the power is off and we have got the portable radio on. People are standing outside talking to each other about it."
Pretty suprising, anyone feel any of this? this morning at around quater past 8 :omg: