Earthquake shakes homes with 'loud bangs and rumblings' in Oban

An earthquake was recorded in parts of Scotland on Sunday evening, with some residents claiming they felt their whole house shake.

The British Geological Survey (BGS) confirmed seismic activity was recorded in Kinloch on January 5 around 8.44pm, recording a magnitude of 2.9 on the Richter scale.

Residents in Oban, Kilchoan, Strontian, Mull, Lismore and many surrounding villages in the region were said to have felt the impact.

BGS said they received reports of people feeling “like a tank was passing the house” with “very loud bangs and rumblings” as windows and doors rattled.

BGS SEISMIC INFORMATION – KINLOCH, HIGHLAND 05 JANUARY 2025 20:44 UTC 2.9 ML

DATE: 05 January 2025
ORIGIN TIME: 20:44 07.4s UTC
LAT/LON: 56.642° North / 5.782° West
DEPTH: 24.5 km
MAGNITUDE: 2.9 ML
LOCALITY: Near Kinloch, Highland. 32km NW of Oban pic.twitter.com/pHP16cP6HZ
— British Geological Survey (@BritGeoSurvey) January 5, 2025

One resident reported they “felt the whole house shake” with the seismic activity recording a depth of 13km.

The epicentre was said to be around 30km from surrounding villages.

BGS said on X: “Felt by many people in Oban, Kilchoan, Strontian, Mull, Lismore and many surrounding villages in the region, mainly from within approximately 30 km of the epicentre.

“If you live in the area and felt the quake, or even if you didn’t, please consider filling out our ‘felt report’, which helps our scientists ascribe intensity to the event.”