Kent earthquake: Tremor that shook buildings was 'like explosion'

 
Tremor: The 4.2 or 4.3 magnitude earthquake measured on a graph from a British Geological Survey monitoring station (Picture: British Geological Survey/PA)
Press Association
Ramzy Alwakeel22 May 2015
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An earthquake that shook buildings in Kent last night was like an "explosion", people close to the epicentre said today.

The 4.2 or 4.3 magnitude quake, a similar size to the tremor that hit Folkestone in 2007, is not thought to have caused any injuries or damaged any buildings - but witnesses spoke of being woken up as their homes shuddered.

"Thought someone was trying to break into my house but no it was just an earthquake," tweeted Marcus Perry.

Carrie (@‏CryptozoologC) added the tremor had cracked her fireplace.

Seismologists at the British Geological Survey (BGS) initially said the tremor, felt mainly in the east of the county, measured 4.2 on the Richter scale.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Last night i told my mum i felt everything wobbling and she said "oh it was probably just a lorry passing" nope earthquake— Jasmine Mariaa (@jasminemariaxx) <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/jasminemariaxx/status/601640717321150465" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-42011-https://twitter.com/jasminemariaxx/status/601640717321150465" data-vars-event-id="c23">May 22, 2015</a>

Kent Police later said it had measured 4.3, a reading in line with that taken by the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre based in Paris.

A force spokesman said: "It has now been confirmed parts of east Kent have been affected by an earthquake measuring just 4.3 on the Richter scale.

"Kent Police began receiving reports of the earthquake tremor in the East Kent area at about 2.57am today. Police and Kent Fire and Rescue Services have not received any reports of structural damage or injuries."

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">So it was an <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/earthquake?src=hash" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-42011-https://twitter.com/hashtag/earthquake?src=hash" data-vars-event-id="c23">#earthquake</a> after all. In Kent, of all places. My bed shook. Thought I was in The Exorcist. I blame the government.— Jagd Slarek (@jagd_slarek) <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/jagd_slarek/status/601638745096486912" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-42011-https://twitter.com/jagd_slarek/status/601638745096486912" data-vars-event-id="c23">May 22, 2015</a>

People living nearby tweeted their reactions after being awoken by the tremor.

Iain Buchanan, of Ramsgate, said: "So I'm not going mental, my house shook due to an earthquake in Kent of all places. Thank god for 24 hrs news & social media to find out."

He later told the Press Association: "Lying in bed when the house suddenly shook. Thought something had collapsed outside, so got up to check.

"I've looked outside and all appears to be fine in the street. No damage that I can see. Will obviously see more later when it's lighter. Weird experience anyway.

"I actually thought it was an explosion of some sort and not an earthquake."

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">OMG!! I knew it was something; it was an earthquake!! The house shook &amp; startled me out of my bed. It was frightening. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/BBCBreakfast" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-42011-https://twitter.com/BBCBreakfast" data-vars-event-id="c23">@BBCBreakfast</a>— Mel Callum (@HervLArtistes) <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/HervLArtistes/status/601638057327071232" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-42011-https://twitter.com/HervLArtistes/status/601638057327071232" data-vars-event-id="c23">May 22, 2015</a>

The British Geological Survey said earthquakes similar in size to the one that struck Kent happen around every two years in the UK and about 4,500 times a year across the world.

It tweeted: "Today's 4.2 magnitude Ramsgate earthquake is approx 260,000 times smaller than the 7.8 NepalQuake event."

Additional reporting by Press Association

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