This is the moment an earthquake shook homes in Lancashire
A 3.3-magnitude earthquake rattled homes in north-west England on Wednesday night, the British Geological Survey (BGS) reported.
The tremor, which struck shortly after 23:23, was felt across Lancashire and the southern Lake District, including the towns of Kendal and Ulverston, within 12 miles (19 km) of the epicentre which is believed to be Silverdale in Lancashire.
Nikki Maddox, who runs the Blossom Bird coffee shop in Silverdale said she thought her roof was caving in when the tremors started.
“I had just climbed into bed and I heard this enormous rumble. It shook the whole house, it was very, very terrifying,” she said.
Nikki Maddox, who runs the Blossom Bird coffee shop in Silverdale, said she was going to open as usual following the earthquake
Ms Maddox, who lives above the shop with her son, said the earthquake lasted about 20 seconds and the noise was “deafening”.
“It lasted long enough for me to think ‘oh no, the roof is caving in this is going to be expensive,’ she said.
“We’re about two floors up and the movement and the noise that came from the ground up was incredible, it was terrifying.
“It was deafening, my bed is against the wall and I could feel the wall shaking.”
Silverdale Parish Councillor Liz Unsworth said she had just returned from the village pantomime when the earthquake hit
Silverdale Parish Councillor Liz Unsworth said it felt like her house was “disintegrating” around her.
“It was really scary,” she said.
“I was relaxing before going to bed and I suddenly felt like my roof was falling in, the house was shaking.
“All my neighbours were outside, we didn’t know what it was [at the time].”
‘Hell of a scare’
Katrina Simmons, who lives in Carnforth, 4.8 miles (7.7km) from the suspected epicentre, said she was woken in the night by the tremors.
“The shaking woke me up, I thought someone had driven into the house,” she said.
“It was about 25 to 12 and I jumped straight out of bed. I live on my own so it gave me a hell of a scare,” the Spar shop assistant added.
“It was only when I went on Facebook this morning I realised it was an earthquake.
“A customer this morning said all the emergency services were on standby at Aldi, at that time they thought it might have been an explosion. Someone said they could hear a helicopter circling.”
The quake occurred just off the coast of Silverdale at a depth of 1.86 miles, data suggested. There were no immediate reports of damage.
Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service said “many residents felt or heard a loud bang” in the area of Carnforth.
Lancaster police also said it had received reports of a “loud explosion” in the area.
Tremors were felt within 12 miles of the epicentre which is believed to be Silverdale in Lancashire
Ms Simmons’ colleague, Clare Hailes, from North Lancaster, said the force of the tremor set the shop’s alarm off.
“I know the general manager got a call in the middle of the night because it set the alarms off,” she said.
“Customers have been talking about it all morning. They thought a lorry had crashed into a building or there had been a quarry explosion. No-one was expecting it to be an earthquake.”
Lancashire Police said there had been a “minor earthquake in the area, near to the Lancashire and Cumbria border, measuring 3.3 magnitude”.
It added: “There have been no reports of anyone injured or damage caused but we have officers in the area, together with colleagues from the Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service and the North West Ambulance Service.”
The Volcano Discovery website said it had received more than 1,000 reports about the earthquake, with some as far away as Blackpool.
One Carnforth resident posted on the site: “Heard a rumbling sound which intensified in to a loud bang. Thought my roof was collapsing or something! Very scary.”
Another, in Silverdale, posted: “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.”
BGS detects about 300 earthquakes every year in the UK, but only about a tenth of these are felt or heard by people.
Get our flagship newsletter with all the headlines you need to start the day. Sign up here.
