Earthquake in England ‘felt like someone driving into house’

According to the report of the British Geological Survey (BGS), a 3.3 magnitude earthquake shook houses in the northwest of England on Wednesday night.

The tremor, which struck shortly after 11.23pm, was felt in Lancashire 12 miles away, with the epicenter believed to be Silverdale in Lancashire, and the southern Lake District, including the towns of Kendal and Ulverston.

Carnforth resident Katrina Simmons said she was “so scared” when she woke up in the middle of the night with tremors.

“The shaking woke me up, I thought someone had broken into the house,” said Katrina Simmons.

The shop assistant at the Spar in Highfield Road added: “It was 12pm to 12pm and I jumped straight out of bed. I live on my own and it scared the hell out of me.”

“When I logged into Facebook this morning, I realized there was an earthquake.

“This morning a customer said they had all emergency services on standby at Aldi, they thought it might be an explosion at the time.”

Clare Hailes, the store’s outreach manager who lives in North Lancaster, said the strength of the shaking set off the store’s alarm.

“I know the general manager was called in the middle of the night because he set off the alarms.

“Customers have been talking about this since the morning. They thought a truck hit the building or there was an explosion in the quarry. Nobody expected it to be an earthquake.”

According to data, the earthquake occurred just off the coast of Silverdale, Lancashire, at a depth of 2.86 miles. No damage was immediately reported.

Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service said “many residents felt or heard a loud explosion” in the Carnforth area, 18 miles north of Lancaster.

Lancaster police also said they received reports of a “loud explosion” in the area.

The force said there was a “minor earthquake of magnitude 3.3 in the area close to the border of Lancashire and Cumbria”.

He added: “There are no reports of anyone being injured or damaged but we have officers in the area along with colleagues from Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service and North West Ambulance Service.”

The Volcano Discovery website said it had received more than 1,000 reports of the quake, some from as far away as Blackpool.

A Carnforth resident posted on the site: “I heard a booming sound that turned into a loud explosion. I thought my roof had collapsed or something! Very scary.”

Another in Silverdale shared: “Loud banging and clanking of fixtures in the house, as if something had collapsed or the chimney had fallen. Important enough to go out to check.”

BGS detects around 300 earthquakes in the UK every year, but only a tenth of these are felt or heard by people.