| | |
| | |
|
Wednesday
8 September, 2010 |
|
|
|
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Willie Nelson | |
|
 Veteran country music singer Willie Nelson is always up to something new. Read our Willie Watch column to keep up.
|
| |
|
|
Extreme Weather |
|
|
|
|
Earth tremor shakes South East England
• Largest tremor hits UK since Dudley earthquake in 2002
 Images |
|
|
 On the Web |
|
|
By
Urban Cowgirl, Editor
Saturday,
28 April, 2007
Parts of Kent in south eastern England were hit by an earth tremor early on 28 April 2007.
The British Geological Survey (BGS) said that the earthquake registered at 4.3 on the Richter Scale with its epicentre around 12 km off the coast of Dover. Instruments across the country recorded the tremors, which lasted for around two minutes from 8.18am.
Roger Musson, a seismologist at the BGS, said: "There was no short term warning of this earthquake, but we have been expecting one in the straits of Dover for the last 25 years.
"This area is prone to substantial earthquakes at irregular intervals. Since 1382, there have been four significant earthquakes there, the most recent of which have been around four on the Richter scale while the earlier two were around magnitude six.
"There is a point of weakness in the rocks around there as it is an old faultline which is being squeezed as the Atlantic gets wider. Every so often the stress builds up and the rocks shift a bit at that point of weakness. It is not a major fault though."
Sharon Hayles, who lives in the village of Stanford near the Eurotunnel at Folkestone, said her house slid from side to side for about 10 to 15 seconds. There was no damage to her home, but she said the tremor, which hit at 8.18am, shook the house like a "fun fair ride".
Fire officials said they were being inundated with "lots and lots" of calls from residents in the Folkestone area. A Kent Fire and Rescue Service spokesman said: "We have had calls from people saying their chimneys have fallen down, large cracks in people's houses."
Householders felt the tremor further afield including in East Sussex, Essex and Suffolk.
Richard Ashworth, Conservative MEP for the South East of England, told Sky News how he went outside and saw a mass of people standing in the street "and wondering what on earth had happened". He described events as "dramatic" and as "really quite an extraordinary experience".
A spokesman for Eurotunnel said everything was "running normally" with the Channel Tunnel, which runs close to Folkestone. "As far as we are concerned, it has had no affect on services," he said. He added: "We have felt the earth tremors but the system is running as per normal."
A website for the US Geological Survey, which displays all recent earthquakes around the world, said the tremor measured 4.7 on the Richter scale at 8.18 BST, with the tremor located 15 miles south of Canterbury at a "depth" of 6.2 miles. The European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre recorded a tremor of 5.0 magnitude around 7km (4.3 miles) south east of Ashford at 8.18am, according to its website.
April 2007 is the hottest for over 140 years. The average temperature for the past month has been 11.1 degrees Celsius (51.9 degrees Fahrenheit), beating the previous record of 10.6C (51F) set in 1865. Forecasters are predicting more warm weather to come over the final weekend with temperatures up to 23C today and up to 22C tomorrow.
On the Lam 2007
| |
|
|
|
|
|
| Advertise! |
|
|
|
Advertise! |
|
|
|
Copyright OnTheLam 2006
Terms of Service
|
Contact Us
|
|
 Wireless Access
 RSS Feeds
|
|
|
