Telford earthquake had magnitude of one
An earthquake that hit Telford this week may have measured a magnitude of one – but residents are unlikely to have noticed.
The town experienced the tremor, which had its epicentre nine kilometres north of the town, in the early hours.
At that magnitude, such tremors are described as 'microearthquakes' and are not felt, but will still be recorded by seismographs.
David Galloway, from the British Geological Survey, said: "Earthquakes are not that unusual, though mostly these go unnoticed as they are too small."
There are around 8,000 of these types of earthquake every day in the UK.
This particular quake had a depth of 3km into the earth's crust. It was recorded at 5.33am on Monday. Emergency services received no calls from residents following the minor shake.
Shropshire is no stranger to earthquakes. In 1990 one in Bishop's Castle had a magnitude of five and was felt across England and Wales.
Earthquakes are caused by moving plates in the earth's crust. The actual shaking will occur on the 'fault line' or point at which these plates meet. Bishop's Castle lies on the Pontesford
Linley fault line, which caused the famous 1990 quake – recorded as the second largest onshore earthquake in recent years.
Damage caused was minor, resulting in cracks and damage to chimneys and plasterwork in buildings north of Wrexham and especially in Shrewsbury.
In the last century, there have been larger shocks – near Shrewsbury in 1932, near Ludlow in 1926 and near Hereford in 1896 and 1924
Did you feel the earthquake? Do you have any stories about earthquakes in the county? If so, call our newsdesk on (01952) 241420.
