People in Wales may have felt the ground move yesterday after it was confirmed that an earthquake hit the north of the country. The quake had a magnitude of 1.0 on the Richter scale and happened at 6.43am on Monday April 4. The epicentre was located 2km west of Trefriw in Conwy, according to the British Geological Survey, at a depth of 7km.
This was not the first earthquake to hit the British Isles in recent weeks. Days earlier on March 31 a tremor with a magnitude of 0.5 was recorded at Clodock in Herefordshire and on March 30 Mablethrope in Lincolnshire had a quake with a magnitude of 1.1.
The last time an earthquake with a magnitude of 1 struck North Wales was Snowdonia during October 2021. Then a “big rumble sound” was heard by communities in the Conwy Valley and beyond - waking dogs and shaking sofas.
Some people suspected thunder, others put it down to a large passing vehicle or a sonic boom. It was recorded at a depth of 6km with the epicentre given as "3km north-north-east of the village of Dolgarrog, Conwy".
A quake at 1.0 on the Richter scale, is considered to be a “micro earthquake” which are relatively commonplace in the UK. In September 2019 a 1.5 quake also rattled the village of Beddgelert, in Gwynedd.
The Richer scale is used throughout the world to measure the power of earthquakes. According to the scale, a measurement of around 3.0 magnitude would be considered a minor tremor, which can be felt if you are normally sitting down.
There are roughly 200-300 quakes in Britain every year, but the vast majority are so small that no one notices them, reports The Mirror. However, between 20-30 are over 2.0 magnitude which can be felt over a wider area. The most damaging earthquake in the UK was in the Colchester area in 1884. Some 1200 buildings needed repairs, chimneys collapsed and walls were cracked.
