It is not often the UK is hit by an earthquake. It becomes headline news, even though minimal damage is done, compared with more severe earthquakes in other parts of the world
An earthquake struck Kent (UK) this morning. (April 28th, 2007)
Click on image to see details.
(Source : http://www.esc.bgs.ac.uk/esc_emsc.htm
It caused a major power cut in the Folkestone area. The earthquake was identified by the British Geological Survey as being 12 kilometres off the coast of Dover and Hythe area . It affected about 65,000 homes and businesses. The epicentre was calculated to be 12 km off the coast of Dover. The US Geological Survey measured the quake at 4.7 on the Richter Scale at a depth of 10km below the surface.
Kent Fire and Rescue Service revealed that it had over 100 emergency calls in the morning. Damage to structures included chimneys and walls. The quake was felt in Canterbury and Ashford, and its duration was only a second or two. It set off numerous fire alarms across the region. This resulted in many hotels and businesses being evacuated.
( Richter Scale for 4.0 to 4.9:
Noticeable shaking of indoor items, rattling noises. Significant damage unlikely. There are an estimated 6,200 quakes of this magnitude per year. )
Animated Image showing Earthquakes over 7 days.
Notice that most of the earthquakes are along plate boundaries.....(Source : USGS)
More about Plate Boundaries:
http://earth.leeds.ac.uk/dynamicearth/plates_move/active_tectonics/index.htm
Wikipedia Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007_Kent_earthquake
BBC Website: How do earthquakes happen?
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