Buildings rattle as 4.2 quake hits England
A magnitude 4.2 earthquake has been felt in parts of Kent, England, about 100kms east of London.
Seismologists at the British Geological Survey (BGS) confirmed the tremor, which was felt in areas including Ramsgate.
Here's our Felt Locations map based on first 250 felt reports from this online questionnaire http://t.co/mzAZINW6Y3 pic.twitter.com/bmYkfXtjMO
— British Geological Survey (@BritGeoSurvey) May 22, 2015
Police say there have been no injuries or damage to buildings.
The BGS tweeted: “Prelim data now online ... 4.2 magnitude earthquake nr Sandwich, Kent.”
Kent Police was inundated with calls about the incident.
A spokesman said: “It has now been confirmed parts of East Kent has been affected by an earthquake measuring just 4.3 on the Richter scale (British Geological Survey).
"Kent Police began receiving reports of the earthquake tremor in the East Kent area at around 2.57am today. Police and Kent Fire and Rescue Services have not received any reports of structural damage or injuries.
“We will continue to liaise with our partner agencies to ensure we are providing help and support in any areas needed,” the police spokesman said.
This morning’s #KentEarthquake in the UK recorded across the @BritGeoSurvey seismic monitoring network pic.twitter.com/SZeur9NWhj
— Stephen Hicks 🇪🇺 (@seismo_steve) May 22, 2015
Earthquakes the size of the Ramsgate event happen approximately every two years in the UK and approximately 4,500 times in the world annually, the BGS said. Today's 4.2 magnitude earthquake is about 260,000 times smaller than the 7.8 quake that recently devastated Nepal.
Residents tweeted their reactions after being awoken by the tremors.
Vikki Petts said: “So we just had a 4.3 magnitude earthquake in Kent and my housemates slept through the entire thing. certainly woke me up!”
I was terrified for a few seconds and it makes me think of how scared everyone must have been in the Nepal earthquakes! #earthquake #kent
— Sophie Rose 🌹 (@SophieRoseSpuz) May 22, 2015
Jonathan Tapp said: “Earthquake in East Kent and now can’t get back to sleep. Despite months spent in NZ this is my first one that I’ve felt.”
Iain Buchanan, of Ramsgate, said: “So I’m not going mental, my house shook due to an earthquake in Kent of all places. Thank god for 24 hrs news & social media to find out.”
He added: “Lying in bed when the house suddenly shook. Thought something had collapsed outside, so got up to check.
“I’ve looked outside and all appears to be fine in the street. No damage that I can see. Will obviously see more later when it’s lighter. Weird experience anyway. I actually thought it was an explosion of some sort and not an earthquake.”
Other agencies initially recorded varying measurements, including the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre, based in Paris, said the earthquake measured 4.3 on the Richter scale.
It tweeted: “M4.3 earthquake strikes 46km SE of Southend-on-Sea (United Kingdom).”
The US Geological Survey measured the quake as magnitude 4.0.
Here's seismicity map for this morning's 4.2 earthquake, 5km south of Ramsgate, Kent & approx 100km east of London pic.twitter.com/XaF9cRY4gm
— British Geological Survey (@BritGeoSurvey) May 22, 2015
