Earthquake shakes parts of Kent!

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Yosh

@Yosh

Voyager

Posted: 18 years ago

Was anyone in the area? Witnessed any of the damage caused by the tremor?

Earthquake shakes parts of Kent

A firefighter inspecting a damaged chimney

The earthquake damaged several homes in Folkestone

An earthquake with a magnitude of at least 4.3 has shaken parts of Kent, damaging buildings and disrupting electricity supplies. Emergency services have received reports of structural damage including cracked walls and fallen chimneys in Folkestone and nearby areas. The British Geological Survey said the tremor, which occurred at 0818 BST, had its epicentre out in the Dover Straits. It said it was the largest quake in the UK since the one in Dudley in 2002. The earthquake was reportedly felt as far afield as Essex, East Sussex and Suffolk.

All our street shook...the seagulls went crazy

Karol Steele

Witnesses' accounts

EDF Energy said it had managed to restore electricity to most of the several thousand homes left without power in the Folkestone and Dover area. Scottish and Southern Energy, which supplies gas to the area, said it was investigating 300 "possible gas escapes". "Obviously there is a smell about and people have been reporting it and we have to attend every single report," a spokesman said. "But at the moment we are not sure if it is natural gas brought up by the earthquake, which can happen, or leaks from pipes." Significant tremor David Booth of the British Geological Survey said the tremor, which lasted a few seconds, was of a sizeable magnitude. "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."

Dr Brian Baptie, also of the British Geological Survey, told BBC News 24 that the epicentre was seven miles (12km) south of Dover, out in the English Channel. Randy Baldwin from the US Geological Survey, which monitors earthquakes, said the tremor had a preliminary magnitude of 4.7. 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". A Eurostar spokesman said everything was running normally in 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".

QUAKES IN THE UK

December 2006 - Dumfries and Galloway (3.5 on Richter scale)

September 2002 - Dudley, West Midlands (5.0)

October 2001 - Melton Mowbray (4.1)

September 2000 - Warwick (4.2)

April 1990 - Bishop's Castle, Shropshire (5.1)

July 1984 - Nefyn, north Wales (5.4)

June 1931 - in North Sea near Great Yarmouth (6.1)

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."