Rural Welsh hamlet hit by earthquake

Sky News
Fri, 22 December 2023 


A tiny village in rural Wales has been hit by an earthquake.

It struck in the Gwynedd region in northwest Wales at around 11.30pm on Thursday night, the British Geological Society (BGS) said, with the epicentre in the village of Capel Carmel.

The quake was at a depth of 12km, and measured 1.8 on the magnitude scale.

Data shows it was felt up to two miles away.

According to local media reports, a user in the North Wales Storm Watch group on Facebook said there was a sound "like thunder" and it had "a bang" that they had not heard before from previous earthquakes in the region.

It "sounded like it was in the sky," they said.

Wales has been hit by a fair bit of tectonic activity in recent months.

In October, an earthquake measuring 1.3 on the scale hit Llanfigael in Anglesea.

While in February, a much bigger quake hit close to Merthyr Tydfil, coming in at 3.7 and a depth of only 2km, with homes as far away as Birmingham feeling the shocks.

Last month, Cornwall felt an earthquake with a 2.7 magnitude.

The UK experiences around 200 to 300 earthquakes a year, though only around 30 are felt, according to Dr David Hawthorn, a seismologist with the BGS.