3.3-magnitude earthquake ‘shakes homes and wakes people up’ in the North West

A 3.3-magnitude earthquake has struck Lancashire – with dozens of people saying it shook their homes or woke them up.

The British Geological Survey (BGS) said it was “felt across the South Lakes and Lancashire, mainly within 20km of the epicentre”, including Kendal and Ulverston in neighbouring Cumbria.

Preliminary data suggests it struck off the coast of Silverdale at 11.23pm, at a depth of 1.86 miles (3km).

Each year, between 200 and 300 earthquakes are detected and located in the UK by the BGS.

Between 20 and 30 earthquakes are felt by people each year, and a few hundred smaller ones are only recorded by sensitive instruments.

Most of these are very small and cause no damage.

People posted their reaction online. Reports included that the earthquake “felt like an explosion and vibration coming from underground”.

Sue Anderson wrote on a Carnforth social media page: “Absolutely shaken to my core. Don’t think I’ll be sleeping tonight, terrified.”

Lynn Snowdon wrote on the local Facebook page for Carnforth, Lancashire: “What the hell was that? House just shaken like a leaf?”

Dozens of locals posted similar experiences, including links to details of the tremor on the Volcano Discovery website.

One resident in the village of Over Kellet, Lancashire, said: “It felt like my whole house moved side to side and everything inside just shook, and it was one big thud, then the after-shakes seemed to last a bit longer than the first shake and slowly fizzled out. Very scary.”

A resident in the nearby village of Silverdale added: “Loud rumble and rattling of fixtures in house, as though something had collapsed or the chimney had fallen off. Significant enough to go outside to check.”

A resident of Carnforth said: “Was a very strange feeling for this area. Shaking and rumbling, along with a bang. Thought a train had derailed or something, as I live near the tracks.”

Another comment said it “sounded like bricks falling/the roof falling in”, while another wrote that it was “so powerful to shake the whole house”.

Dozens of messages on X reported the earthquake in the surrounding area.

“Whole place shook twice, here in a lakeside holiday rental in Carnforth,” wrote one.

Another person from Carnforth, near the epicentre, said: “I’m used to my door slamming as it is hard to shut, but only registered it was an earthquake after someone had told me.”

While the accounts are unverified, some people also commented they had felt shaking as far away as the Fylde Peninsula, specifically Poulton-le-Fylde and Fleetwood, both north of Blackpool.

According to the BGS, the most recent earthquake to measure over 3.3 was recorded on 20 October near Loch Lyon in Perth and Kinross. The 3.7-magnitude quake was one of a series of tremors registered over a number of days.

Meanwhile, Lancashire has suffered a series of tremors in the past as a result of fracking, including a 2.1-magnitude tremor at Cuadrilla’s site near Blackpool in 2019, prompting a fracking ban in England.

But not all tremors are naturally occurring, including Liverpool fans’ reaction to a goal in the Premier League and celebrations from Scotland fans, which the BGS said its instruments were able to register.