1931 Dogger Bank earthquake

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The Dogger Bank earthquake of 1931 was the strongest earthquake ever recorded in the United Kingdom since measurements began. It measured 6.1 on the Richter Scale.^[1]

The tremor began at around 1:30am on June 7, 1931 with its epicentre located on the Dogger Bank, 60 miles (100 km) off the Yorkshire coast in the North Sea. The effects were felt throughout Great Britain and in Belgium and France.^[2]

The earthquake resulted in damage at locations throughout eastern England. The town of Filey in Yorkshire was worst hit with the spire of a church being twisted by the tremor. Chimneys collapsed in Hull, Beverley and Bridlington, and Flamborough Head suffered crumbling of parts of its cliffs. Rather less seriously, in London the head of the waxwork of Dr Crippen at Madame Tussauds fell off.

The location of the earthquake in the North Sea meant that damage was significantly less than it would have been had the epicentre been on the British mainland. It was also reported that a Hull woman died as a result of a heart attack caused by the quake.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Contemporary newspaper report
• Seismicity and earthquake hazard in the UK, British Geological Survey
• Earthquake records
• The Threat Posed by Tsunamis to the UKPDF (1.49 MiB), British Geological Survey, includes mathematical model of the quake