News: Folkestone Earthquake (UK) - Saturday 28th April 2007

Who said the UK doesn't experience Earthquakes? Well on Saturday 28th April 2007 at 8.19am, the South East of England experienced a 'moderate' quake registering a magnitude of 4.3 on the richter scale.

Here is the report from the BBC website:
An earthquake has shaken parts of Kent, damaging buildings and disrupting electricity supplies. Homes in five streets in Folkestone had to be evacuated because of structural damage including cracked walls and fallen chimneys and one woman was taken to hospital suffering from a minor head injury.

The tremor measuring 4.3 on the Richter scale struck at 0819 BST and experts said its epicentre was a few miles off the coast in the English Channel.
One woman was taken to hospital suffering from a minor head injury.
Chief Superintendent Ally Hope said: "Given the time this happened and the number of people that were about we should be genuinely thankful that so few people were hurt."

British Geological Survey (BGS) seismologist Roger Musson said the tremor was around 4.3 on the Richter scale, with an epicentre 7.5 miles off the Dover coast.
"This is by no means a complete surprise," he said. "There have been earthquakes in this location before.
"Two of them have been some of the biggest earthquakes ever to affect Britain.
"The first was in 1382 and in 1580 a quake with a magnitude of about six killed two people in London.

The BGS is keen for anyone who felt the earthquake to fill in a questionnaire on their website so they can collect information on the impact of the earthquake to analyse in more detail its strength and precise location.