Leighton Buzzard in Bedfordshire has been hit by a 3.0 magnitude earthquake, the third earthquake in two weeks, the British Geological Survey (BSG) have said
The earthquake was recorded at 8.32am this morning at a depth of 6.2 miles (10km).
It was felt by local residents in the Bedfordshire area who took to social media to share that they could feel and hear their homes rattling.
One tweeted to say they “felt a jolt” to their house, another said it “rumbled and shook”.
The BSG have said that they are investigating but the early location of the earthquake was given as just north of the area of Leighton Buzzard.
It has been the third earthquake to hit the area in the space of just two weeks.
The last tremor hit at 11.20pm on the 13th of September. It was measured by the BGS to have a magnitude of 2.1.
This comes after the UK could soon be seeing 49,000 new cases of COVID-19 every day unless further action is taken in order to drive down the current rate of infection in the country, according to the government’s chief scientific adviser.
The tremor is thought to have been an aftershock from the original quake on the 8th of September which was measured at a magnitude of 3.5.
A tweet from the organisation said: “We’re receiving reports about the earthquake, which followed previous events in the same area on 8 & 13 Sept, with magnitudes 3.5 & 2.1.”
“Reports describe “only lasted a couple of seconds” and “just felt a single jolt, a bit like being in a car that has done an emergency stop!”
Glenn Ford, a seismologist with the BGS, has said that today’s earthquake is also an aftershock.
He said: “What we’re seeing here is a small aftershock from that earthquake (on September 8).”
Mr Ford said it was “typical behaviour” which had been seen in different areas of the UK “on many occasions”.
He added: “There’s obviously been some stress been building up in that particular area and we’ve had the initial earthquake.”
“It’s maybe just still rebalancing the stress regime in that particular part of the world and we’re getting these little aftershocks occurring as well.”
“It probably will settle down soon but could we get another one? We certainly could, but when it could happen, we don’t know.”
This comes after pubs, bars and restaurants across England will be forced to close at 10pm starting on Thursday, and the government have told people to work from home again if they are able.
One person said: “I was a sleep in bed after finishing a night shift and it woke me up. The bed and whole house was shaking.”
Another said: “I am on the top floor of a four-storey building. I felt some shakes like a big truck going pass very nearby, but I am quite a distance away from the road.”
