List of earthquakes in the British Isles
The following is a list of notable earthquakes that have been detected in the British Isles.
On average several hundred earthquakes are detected by the British Geological Survey each year, but almost all are far too faint to be felt by humans. Those that are felt generally cause very little damage.
Nonetheless, earthquakes have on occasion resulted in considerable damage, most notably in 1580 and 1884; Musson (2003) reports that there have been ten documented fatalities – six caused by falling masonry and four by building collapse.
Earthquakes
For earthquakes prior to the modern era, the magnitude and epicentre location are only approximate, and were calculated based on available reports from the time. The magnitude where given is measured using the Richter scale ().
Pre-18th century
Date |
Epicentre |
|
Notes |
00 Jan 974 |
England |
|
[1][2] |
1 May 1048 |
English Midlands |
|
Felt in Worcester, Warwick and Derby[2] |
4 Jul 1060 |
England |
|
[2] |
22 Apr 1076 |
England |
|
Also felt in France and Denmark[2] |
11 Aug 1089 |
England |
|
[2] |
28 Aug 1119 |
Western England |
|
[2] |
25 Jul 1122 |
Somerset and Gloucestershire |
|
[2] |
5 Dec 1129 |
England |
|
[2] |
4 Aug 1133 |
England |
|
[2] |
1 May 1158 |
England |
|
[2] |
26 Jan 1165 |
East Anglia |
|
[2] |
25 Apr 1180 |
Nottinghamshire |
|
[3] |
15 Apr 1185 |
Lincoln |
|
Lincoln Cathedral badly damaged[2] |
00 Jan 1199 |
Scotland |
|
[2] |
23 Apr 1228 |
England |
|
[2] |
1 Jun 1246 |
Canterbury |
|
[4] |
13 Feb 1247 |
London |
|
[5] |
20 Feb 1247 |
Wales |
5.5~5.5 |
Damage to St David's Cathedral in Pembrokeshire.[2] |
21 Dec 1248 |
South West England |
|
Wells Cathedral reported to have been badly damaged[2] |
11 Sep 1275 |
Southern England |
|
In Glastonbury, the Abbey was damaged and the Church of St. Michael on the Torr Hill destroyed[2] |
4 Jan 1299 |
South East England |
|
Felt in Kent and Middlesex, may have caused the collapse of St Andrew's church Hitchin[2] |
21 May 1318 |
England |
|
[2] |
28 Mar 1343 |
Eastern England |
|
Felt in Lincolnshire[2] |
27 Mar 1349 |
Eastern England |
|
Felt in Beverley[2] |
21 May 1382 |
Canterbury |
5.8~5.8 |
The bell tower of the cathedral was "severally damaged" and the six bells "shook down". Cloister walls to the Canterbury dormitory were ruined. In Kent, All Saints Church, West Stourmouth, was badly damaged. Felt in London and lent its name to the "Earthquake Synod. "[2] |
24 May 1382 |
Canterbury |
5.0~5.0 |
Aftershock of 21 May earthquake[2] |
28 Dec 1480 |
Norfolk |
|
[2] |
19 Sep 1508 |
North Sea |
|
Felt in England and Scotland. Recent studies suggest that this earthquake may have been as large as magnitude 7.0, with the epicenter in fact in the area north west of Scotland.[6] |
00 Jul 1534 |
North Wales |
4.5~4.5 |
Felt in Dublin, Ireland.[2] |
25 May 1551 |
Croydon |
|
[7] |
26 Feb 1575 |
West Midlands |
5.0~5.0 |
Felt as far apart as York and Bristol[2] |
6 Apr 1580 |
Straits of Dover |
5.8~5.8 |
First recorded fatality. See Dover Straits earthquake of 1580 [2] |
1 May 1580 |
Straits of Dover |
4.4~4.4 |
Principal aftershock of the Dover Straits earthquake of 1580 felt as far as Gravesend[2] |
23 Jul 1597 |
Scotland |
4.6~4.6 |
Felt all over the Highlands[2] |
24 Dec 1601 |
North Sea |
|
Felt in London and the east of England[2] |
00 Feb 1602 |
North Sea |
|
[2] |
8 Nov 1608 |
Comrie |
4.6~4.6 |
[2] |
2 Mar 1622 |
Scotland |
|
[2] |
11 Apr 1650 |
Cumberland |
4.9~4.9 |
[2] |
00 Jun 1668 |
Borders |
|
No contemporary account of this shadowy event has come to light, but some later events are compared to it.[2] |
6 Oct 1683 |
Derby |
4.7~4.7 |
First British earthquake surveyed by the British Geological Survey[2] |
27 Aug 1690 |
Carmarthen |
4.7~4.7 |
Also felt in Nantwich, Cheshire and Bideford, Devon [2] |
7 Oct 1690 |
Caernarfon |
5.2~5.2 |
Felt from Dublin to London[2] |
8 Sep 1692 |
Brabant, Belgium |
5.8~5.8 |
Felt in most parts of England, France, Germany and the Netherlands.[8] |
18th century
19th century
20th century
21st century
Date |
Epicentre |
|
Notes |
23 September 2000[2] |
Warwick |
4.2 |
Felt across the Midlands |
28 October 2001[2] |
Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire |
4.1 |
Felt across the East Midlands |
13 February 2002 |
South Wales |
~3.0 |
Felt in South Wales Valleys.[20] |
22 September 2002[2] |
Dudley |
4.7 |
Felt between Liverpool and London. See 2002 Dudley earthquake |
21 October 2002[2] |
Manchester |
3.9 |
Followed by a 3.5 magnitude event 22 seconds later.[21] Largest event in an earthquake swarm that occurred in the centre of Manchester during October and January 2003. During this swarm, over 110 tremors were recorded, with 30 being strong enough to be felt.[22] |
14 February 2005[23] |
Conwy |
3.3 |
|
26 December 2006[24] |
Dumfries |
3.6 |
|
28 April 2007[25] |
Folkestone, Kent |
4.3 |
See 2007 Kent earthquake |
10 August 2007 |
Manchester |
2.5 |
Strongest of six tremors that occurred during August 2007[26][27] |
27 February 2008[28] |
Market Rasen, Lincolnshire |
5.2 |
Felt widely in England and Wales. See 2008 Lincolnshire earthquake. |
26 October 2008[29] |
Bromyard, Herefordshire |
3.6 |
|
15 January 2009 |
Shetland Isles, Scotland |
3.3 |
[30] |
3 March 2009 |
Folkestone, Kent |
3.0 |
[31] |
11 April 2009 |
Goxhill, North Lincolnshire |
3.0 |
[32] |
28 April 2009 |
Ulverston, Cumbria |
3.7 |
Felt around Barrow, Kendal, Windermere, Fleetwood and the North Lancaster area.[33][34] |
1 September 2010 |
Central North Sea |
3.5 |
[35] |
21 December 2010 |
Coniston, Cumbria[36] [37] |
3.5 |
Felt across Cumbria and also in Dumfries & Galloway, Isle of Man and Lancashire |
3 January 2011 |
Ripon, North Yorkshire |
3.6 |
Felt across Yorkshire and Cumbria.[38] |
23 January 2011 |
Glenuig, Highland |
3.5 |
Felt across the Western Highlands including in Inverness, Skye and Oban.[39] |
23 June 2011 |
Bovey Tracey, Devon |
2.7 |
[40] |
14 July 2011 |
English Channel, Portsmouth, England |
3.9 |
[41] |
21 August 2011 |
Lochailort, Scottish Highlands, Scotland |
2.9 |
[42] |
20 October 2011 |
Glen Shiel, Scottish Highlands, Scotland |
2.4 |
[43] |
04 December 2011 |
Bodmin, Cornwall, England |
2.2 |
The quake could have been felt as far as St Austell, Liskeard and Padstow, but there were no reports of damage.[44] |
References
Citations
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- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au av aw ax ay az ba bb bc bd be bf bg bh bi bj bk bl bm bn bo bp bq br bs bt bu bv bw bx by bz ca cb cc cd ce cf cg ch ci cj ck cl cm cn co cp cq cr cs ct cu cv cw cx cy cz da db dc dd de df dg dh di dj dk dl dm dn do dp dq dr ds dt du dv dw dx dy dz ea eb ec ed ee ef eg eh ei ej ek el em en eo ep eq er es et eu ev ew ex ey ez fa fb fc fd fe ff fg fh fi fj fk fl fm fn fo fp fq fr fs ft fu fv fw fx fy fz "Notes on invididual earthquakes". British Geological Survey. Archived from the original on 16 May 2011. http://web.archive.org/web/20110516173115/http://www.quakes.bgs.ac.uk/earthquakes/historical/historical_listing.htm. Retrieved 8 December 2011.
- ^ Davison, Charles (1924). "12: Earthquakes of the Midland Counties of England". A History of British Earthquakes. Cambridge. p. 235. ISBN 9780521140997. Archived from the original on 2009. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=O7zGmg19a70C&pg=PA235&lpg=PA235&dq=nottinghamshire+earthquake+1180&source=bl&ots=Rj8r9QxSr9&sig=ODtvgUM4K0hupLadlkYwgxRBarI&hl=en&ei=zYzgTsm7MYGV8QPQpPXgBA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CCQQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=nottinghamshire%20earthquake%201180&f=false. Retrieved 8 December 2011.
- ^ Davison, Charles (1924). "17: Earthquakes of the South-East of England". A History of British Earthquakes. Cambridge. p. 330. ISBN 9780521140997. Archived from the original on 2009. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=yhI9AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA330&lpg=PA330&dq=canterbury+earthquake+1246&source=bl&ots=DtWl12cQWM&sig=iOUATxtWpXsepw2JGHPoGN8x0rY&hl=en&ei=tI3gTri2JZHy8QP94tm0Bg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CCcQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=canterbury%20earthquake%201246&f=false. Retrieved 8 December 2011.
- ^ Noorthouck, John (1773). "Book 1, Ch. 3: King John to Edward I', A New History of London: Including Westminster and Southwark". British History Online. pp. 37-56. http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=46720&strquery=earthquake. Retrieved 12 March 2007.
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- ^ 'Croydon', The Environs of London: volume 1: County of Surrey (1792), pp. 170-201. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=45377&strquery=earthquake. Date accessed: 12 March 2007.
- ^ 'Book 1, Ch. 17: From the Revolution to the death of William III', A New History of London: Including Westminster and Southwark (1773), pp. 272-88. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=46734&strquery=earthquake. Date accessed: 12 March 2007.
- ^ "Extract of letter from Weymouth dated 19.11.1726 relating to the earthquake which was felt there on Tuesday the 25th of last month", Norris's Taunton Journal
- ^ x. u21 Gentleman's Magazine Vol. 20 Feb 1750 p. 89
- ^ "Earthquake 10 am 04.05.1750. Cat. No. 109. Winborne (sic), Cashmoor, Shapeele, and Eastbrook" Philos. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. 46, 689-91
- ^ "Earthquake Cat. No. 135, at Sherborne, Shaftesbury and area on 09.06.1761 at 11.45 am", Gentleman's Magazine 31, 282.
- ^ Davison, Charles (1924). "3: Earthquakes of Inverness and of Other Centres Near the Great Glen Fault". A History of British Earthquakes. Cambridge. p. 36. ISBN 9780521140997. Archived from the original on 2009. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=O7zGmg19a70C&pg=PA36&dq=inverness+earthquake+1769&hl=en&ei=vovgTo75L8aQ8gO32I2_BA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CDQQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=inverness%20earthquake%201769&f=false. Retrieved 8 Dec 2011.
- ^ Davison, Charles (1924). "12: Earthquakes of the Midland Counties of England". A History of British Earthquakes. Cambridge. p. 234. ISBN 9780521140997. Archived from the original on 2009. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=O7zGmg19a70C&pg=PA234&lpg=PA234&dq=derbyshire+earthquake+1795&source=bl&ots=Rj8r9QxJu2&sig=brMxlLvXJO7e0D62g0M5Qy3E874&hl=en&ei=YYngTtfSLciF8gOYl538BA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CDQQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=derbyshire%20earthquake%201795&f=false. Retrieved 8 Dec 2011.
- ^ 'Holme, East - Holt', A Topographical Dictionary of England (1848), pp. 533-37. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=51039&strquery=earthquake. Date accessed: 12 March 2007.
- ^ The Times, Friday, 18 Dec 1896; pg. 9; Issue 35077; col E
- ^ Davison, Charles (1899) (in English). The Hereford Earthquake of 17 December 1896. Birmingham: Cornish Brothers. http://books.google.com/books?id=-MZDAAAAIAAJ&pg=PR3#v=onepage&q&f=false.
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- ^ "City shaken by minor earthquake". BBC News. 10 August 2007. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/6940546.stm. Retrieved 2011-12-05.
- ^ "Report IR/06/047: Bulletin of British Earthquakes 2005" (PDF). British Geological Survey. p. 12. http://www.quakes.bgs.ac.uk/publications/bulletins/eqbull2005.pdf. Retrieved 8 December 2011.
- ^ "Dumfries is shaken by earthquake". BBC News. 26 December 2006. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/south_of_scotland/6209949.stm. Retrieved 8 December 2011.
- ^ "Earthquake shakes parts of Kent". BBC News. 28 April 2007. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/6602677.stm. Retrieved 8 December 2011.
- ^ "City shaken by minor earthquake". BBC. 10 August 2007. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/6940546.stm. Retrieved 2011-12-05.
- ^ "Manchester wakes to earthquake". The Guardian. 30 August 2007. http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2007/aug/30/naturaldisasters.world. Retrieved 2011-12-05.
- ^ "Market Rasen Earthquake 27 February 2008 00:56 UTC 5.2 ML". British Geological Survey. Archived from the original on 9 March 2008. http://web.archive.org/web/20080309224139/http://www.earthquakes.bgs.ac.uk/earthquakes/reports/market_rasen_27022008/market_rasen_27022008_intro.htm. Retrieved 8 December 2011.
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Bibliography
External links