Blackpool hit by earthquake as residents report “cabinets shaking” caused by tremor

The coastal town of Blackpool has been struck by an earthquake with a 1.5 magnitude, according to the British Geological Survey.

The tremor happened at 7.36pm on Friday (3 February) and reached a depth of two kilometres.

Residents of the popular seaside destination described the earthquake as 'a noise like a train coming near' and cabinets were 'shaking' at the time of the incident.

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The British Geological Survey commented on the occurrence, saying: "We have received online macroseismic reports from residents in Blackpool, Little Plumpton, Weeton and Westby of this event being felt,

“Reports described, ‘a noise like a train coming near’, ‘ourselves and several neighbours heard it’, ‘our dogs were disturbed’ and ‘the computer and cabinets shook’.”

Less than a month ago, a tremor had been recorded at a magnitude of 2.1 in the Irish Sea, around 35km off the coast of Blackpool.

Whilst both sets of tremors were not considered to be very high on the Richter scale, they occurred at a reasonably shallow depth, which causes the quakes to be more noticeable than it would be if it was deeper within the Earth's crust.

Friday's tremor was considered to be a level three on the European Macroseismic Scale (EMS) - with the scale going from one to 12 - and is used to describe the intensity of an earthquake, measuring from 'not felt' to 'completely devastating'.

Level three is described as a 'weak' earthquake, but strong enough to cause 'noticeable shaking of many objects'.

However, one resident who lived a mere one mile from the site of the tremor said that he and all of his neighbours both felt and heard Friday's quake, describing his initial thoughts as being that 'a car had crashed' nearby.

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According to the British Geological Survey, Blackpool experienced around 135 tremors in 2019, back when it had the UK's only shale gas exploration site on Preston New Road.

The site was soon shut down in August of the same year, following a 2.9 magnitude earthquake - the most intense quake in the area, which is rated as a six on the EMS scale.

This level is considered strong enough to cause slight damage to buildings, such as small cracks in plaster.

Cudarilla, who ran the site, said at the time that the quake was 'not strong enough to have caused any damage to property'.

Recent research by the Liberal Democrats political party has suggested that there was as many as 192 earthquakes in the space of 182 days, during an active period at the site between 2018 and 2019.