The British Geological Survey recorded
a Magnitude 4.4 Earthquake at a depth of 7 km, about two kilometres to the south of the village of Cwmllynfell in Neath Port Talbert County, South Wales, slightly after 2.30 pm GMT on Saturday 17 February 2017. There are no reports of any damage or casualties associated with this event, but people have reported feeling this event across most of Wales and England, as well as on the east coast of Ireland.
The approximate location of the 17 February 2018 Cwmllynfell Earthquake. Google Maps.
Earthquakes
become more common as you travel north and west in Great Britain, with
the west coast of Scotland being the most quake-prone part of the island
and the northwest of Wales being more prone to quakes than the rest of
Wales or most of England.
The
precise cause of Earthquakes in the UK can be hard to determine; the
country is not close to any obvious single cause of such activity such
as a plate margin, but is subject to tectonic pressures from several
different sources, with most quakes probably being the result of the
interplay between these forces.
The
precise cause of Earthquakes in the UK can be hard to determine; the
country is not close to any obvious single cause of such activity such
as a plate margin, but is subject to tectonic pressures from several
different sources, with most quakes probably being the result of the
interplay between these forces.
Witness
accounts of Earthquakes can help geologists to understand these events,
and the structures that cause them. If you felt this quake, or were in
the area but did not (which is also useful information) then you can
report it to the British Geological Survey here.
See also...
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