South Wales earthquake: ‘Whole houses shake’ as 3.8 magnitude tremor hits region

An earthquake measuring 3.8 has struck in South Wales with people across the region telling of “houses shaking” and it feeling like an “explosion” as they were awoken in bed

The epicentre was close to the Rhondda Valley (

Image: Matthew Horwood)

A 3.8 magnitude earthquake has hit South Wales with alarmed residents telling of waking up in bed with “whole house shaking” and it feeling like an “explosion”.

The earthquake hit several miles north of Rhondda at midnight on Friday at a depth of just over one mile, reported the British Geological Survey.

Many people immediately reported feeling the effects of the quake and from as far away as Wolverhampton in the West Midlands.

A person in Merthyr Tydfil wrote: “Whole house shook” and another in Hirwaun made the same comment with both only a few miles from the epicentre.

“We’ve had mini earthquake tremors before in Wales but that tremor shook my house to the core in Ebbw Vale,” said a Twitter user.

A 3.8 magnitude earthquake has hit South Wales (

Image:

www.emsc-csem.org)

One resident of Hirwaun said: “Slight shaking of house, handles on furniture rattling.”

While in the town of Mountain Ash a person wrote: “Thought something had fallen upstairs, then my son came down to say his bed shook waking him.”

One report from Gilwern, 25 kilometres from the epicentre, described their house shaking and it feeling like an “explosion”.

Cllr Jamie Scriven in Merthyr Tydfil wrote on Facebook: “A lot of questions online about the recent disturbance.”

He added: “Based on the preliminary seismic data, the quake was probably felt by many people in the area of the epicenter.

“It should not have caused significant damage, other than objects falling from shelves, broken windows, etc. In Merthyr Tydfil (pop. 43,800) located 5 km from the epicenter, and Aberdare (pop. 31,100) 6 km away the quake should have been felt as light shaking.”

In Aberdare a man wrote: “Felt the whole house shake. Thought my wife had fallen out of bed. Took me a few minutes to realise what had happened.”

The largest earthquake to ever strike in the UK came at Dogger Bank in North Sea back in 1931

Then in Clyro, 38 kilometres from where the earthquake struck, a person said: “Felt a big tremble/shake that woke my family up. I woke up just before and felt it at midnight, fairly decent rumble.”

One of the furthest away of the testimonies on the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre website was a person in Wolverhampton, who wrote: “My bed shook!”

In Abertillery a resident said: “Was in bed and suddenly heard a rumble & felt vibrations. It made the floor lamp swing. Only lasted a few seconds.”

A magnitude of between 2.5 and 5.4 means an earthquake is often felt, but only causes minor damage.

While spared the more serious quakes seen elsewhere in the world, the UK is no stranger to seismological activity, with between 200 and 300 earthquakes located within our borders every year according to the British Geological Survey (BGS).

Last year parts of the UK were rattled by a 5.1 earthquake. People reported their homes were “rattling” for minutes as the tremors were felt in parts of northern Scotland on March 21, 2022.

It was reported to have happened at 5.23am off the coast of North East of Shetland.

It was felt in Shetland, Aberdeen, Ellon, Stonehaven, Helmsdale, Inverurie, Lairg, Huntly, Banff and Fraserburgh, according to The British Geological Survey.

The largest earthquake to ever strike in the UK happened at Dogger Bank in North Sea in 1931, with a magnitude of 6.1.

Located 60 miles offshore, it was strong enough to cause minor damage to buildings on the east coast of England, with Filey being worst hit.

Read More Read More Read More Read More Read More