A 3.3-magnitude earthquake shook homes and woke people up in north-west England late on Wednesday night, the British Geological Survey (BGS) reported.
The tremor struck shortly after 11.23pm and was felt across Lancashire and the southern Lake District, including the towns of Kendal and Ulverston, within 12 miles of the epicentre.
Data suggests the quake occurred just off the coast of Silverdale, Lancashire at a depth of 1.86 miles.
Residents told the BGS it “felt like an underground explosion” and was “so powerful it shook the whole house”.
One local from the Morecambe area wrote on social media: “I’ve just been around the house at Morecambe checking for something heavy falling – but there was nothing. It was a big shudder at 11.23pm.”
“The house shook here too in Milnthorpe!! Sounded like an explosion in the distance somewhere,” another said.
Another resident said: “I’m absolutely shaken to my core… Felt like the house was going to cave in, I’m deeply upset and sickened. I don’t think I’m going to be getting back to sleep.”
The Volcano Discovery website, which also collects information on earthquakes, received more than 1,100 reports from people who were in the area at the time.
Most reports detailed “light” or “weak” shaking.
Each year, the BGS detects between 200 and 300 earthquakes in the UK, but only around 20 to 30 are strong enough to be felt.
Most go unnoticed, recorded only by sensitive instruments, and the vast majority cause little or no damage.
The most recent earthquake measuring more than 3.3 magnitude was felt in parts of Perth and Kinross on October 20. The BGS said the quake struck at 7.25am, with its epicentre in Pubil, in the Glen Lyon region.
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