Rutland & Stamford Mercury -
"Residents were left ‘shaken but not stirred’ on Wednesday after Rutland was hit with its biggest earthquake yet, the fifth to hit the county within the space of a year.
The earthquake with a magnitude of 3.8 has shaken homes across the region and is being described at the ‘biggest one yet’ recorded from the epicentre near Cottesmore.
The earthquake which lasted about 10 seconds was felt across the area at 10.22pm, with reports of a ‘loud bang’ and buildings shaking in Rutland, Stamford, the Deepings and Bourne.
The US Geological Survey reported a minor earthquake first with a magnitude 3.8, and the epicentre near Cottesmore at a depth of eight miles.
Cottesmore resident, Geoff Kettle, who lives in Main Street, Cottesmore, said: “The earth shook for us last night! It was very frightening, the whole house shook and some of the tiles in the kitchen fell off the wall. It was so loud that we thought there had been a collision outside as the house really shook. This is definitely worse than before - it was very violent.”
Davie Galloway, from the British Geological Survey, who has been a seismologist for nearly 30 years said that although this is the fifth earthquake to hit Rutland in a year it’s not an unusual occurrence.
He said: “It’s not just Rutland where this is happening, these are typical reports that we receive on a regular basis - the point is that we can’t predict them. We could get another one tomorrow, or next week or in ten years time, we just can’t predict when it will happen.”
“Last night we received a number of reports from the region, all within a 50km radius of the Oakham area. This earthquake was much stronger, reports from local residents revealed that this earthquake was more violent than previously. A lot of people would have been heading to bed at the time and reported that their beds and windows started shaking.”
Residents from Cottesmore felt the full force of the earthquake, reporting a number of loud bangs, sudden noise and ‘vilolent’ shaking of buildings and household items.
Sara Atkin, from Harrier Close, Cottesmore thought her son has fallen out of bed after the loud bang. She said: “We definitely felt it, I heard a loud bang and I though my son who was asleep up stairs has fallen out of bed. It was the sounds that was the worse, you could hear the creak of the earth’s plates moving. It’s nice for our little village to be the centre of the drama, its national news!”
Barbara Fleming, of Wenton Close, Cottesmore thought there had been a car accident. She said: “It came right over us, to begin with it felt as if it was just the front of the house but the whole house began to shake. There was a big bang which gave us all a wake up just before bed. When it happened we thought there has been a bad crash outside, so we quickly went outside and there were other people in the street that had also felt the trembling.”
John Adamson, from Mill Lane, Cottesmore also felt the ‘violent’ quake. He said: “There was a loud bang and everything began to shudder. This one seemed more violent than the previous two, it was definitely the sharpest. This one was really quite big.”
Sylvia Matthews, from Alsthorpe Road, Cottesmore has lived in the area all her life and thinks this is the worst quake yet. She said: “It was really quite frightening. This is the worse one I’ve ever know and I’ve lived here all my life. I’ve probably encountered about seven earthquakes so far and this time was the loudest.”
Sandy Scoley, who also lives in Alsthorpe Road near Sylvia, said: “There was a really big thump and a bang, we were watching TV at the time and it was quite late at night so it was very frightening. In the past the earth has only shook, but this time there was a big bang.”
In Oakham, resident Mr Holder also felt the quake, although he said local residents are starting to get used to it now. He said: “There was a good old rumble, the house shook and there was a big crash and a bang. I think we’re all getting used to it now.
Sheilah Robinson, from Castle Bytham, added: “We live in the middle of no where so it was quite a shock. The house shook for a good couple of seconds - it was quite a sensation. But you eventually realise what is going on.”
On Twitter dozens of people contacted us to say they had felt the earthquake. Emma Bakewell said: “Earthquake felt in Deeping St James”, while Carrie Freman confirmed residents in Wittering felt the tremor.
Craig Lyons, in Bourne, said: “Bed shook and pottery clinked together, lasted five to 10 seconds.”
Sally Smart wrote: “Earthquake wow that was a biggen!! Thought a truck was coming through the house #adrenalinepumping.”
Others posted photographs of framed pictures hanging on the walls slightly askew to show the aftermath of the earthquake.
The earthquake was the second in two days to hit the UK.
The earthquake in Rutland, at 10.25pm and came after an earthquake with a magnitude of 2.9 was recorded in Winchester on Tuesday with police there receiving reports of something which “felt like an explosion which shook their houses”.
That quake is believed to have hit the Hampshire town at about 6.30pm at a depth of three kilometres, according to the BGS website.
The BGS had received reports from a number of residents including one resident who said “the whole bed was visibly shaking” as well as one who said the earthquake sounded “like a bus” crashing “into the neighbours house at speed”.
Another told the BGS: “At least five other households ran outside to make sense of what had shook the houses.
For more detail of the earthquake near Cottesmore visit the British Geological Survey website at www.earthquakes.bgs.ac.uk."
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The Guardian -
"An earthquake measuring 3.8 on the Richter scale hit the village of Cottesmore in Rutland at 10.25pm on Wednesday, according to the US Geological Survey.
Residents told of their shock on Twitter after realising an earthquake had struck.
Sally Smart wrote: “Earthquake wow that was a biggen!! Thought a truck was coming through the house adrenalinepumping.”
A man called Ben wrote: “How was there an earthquake in England? It’s the end of the world.”
Another called Dirk wrote: “Meanwhile on Facebook, people from my village, where the earthquake barely hit, are making sure they’re all okay and prepared for the worst.”
Others posted photographs of framed pictures hanging on the walls slightly askew to show the aftermath of the earthquake.
The British Geological Survey (BGS) said: “Just looking into reports of a possible earthquake in the Leics/Rutland area. Watch this space.”
It comes after an earthquake hit Winchester on Tuesday night, with police receiving reports of something that “felt like an explosion which shook their houses”.
The quake is believed to have hit the Hampshire town at about 6.30pm at a depth of three kilometres, according to the BGS website.
A police spokesman said that no explanation or cause for the shaking could be found and no injuries had been reported.
The BGS said it had received a report from a resident who said “the whole bed was visibly shaking” as well as one who said the earthquake sounded “like a bus” crashing “into the neighbours house at speed”.
Another told the BGS: “At least five other households ran outside to make sense of what had shook the houses.”
In April last year, earthquakes measuring 3.2 and 3.5 magnitude struck Rutland on consecutive days."
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An earlier quake the previous year was also reported in the media. Like this one in
The Telegraph. (
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