News

People in Folkestone, Hawkinge, Hythe and Dover had a feeling of deja vu when the second earth tremor in as many years shook the Channel coast in south east Kent today (3 March).

The tremor measuring 2.8 on the Richter scale was registered but there were no reports of any damage to buildings or any injuries.

Kent police said: "We have had telephone calls and obviously people were concerned that it might be a bomb, but we can confirm it was indeed a tremor."

The British Geological Survey (BGS) recorded the earthquake with a magnitude of 2.8 directly under Folkestone at 2.35pm.

BGS reported: "The earthquake was felt by many residents of Folkestone and the surrounding area. Most people have reported the strength of the shaking as weak to moderate with instances of windows rattling.

"There are around three earthquakes of this size in mainland Britain every year. Today’s earthquake was around 200 times smaller than the magnitude 4.3 earthquake that struck Folkestone on 28 April 2007, causing some damage. “This was a small earthquake, even by British standards and we would not expect it to cause any damage” said Dr Brian Baptie from the British Geological Survey

Significant earthquakes have struck the Dover Straits in 1776 and 1580; the latter had an approximate magnitude of 5.7 ML and reportedly caused damage in London.