A 3.3-magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Silverdale at 11.23pm on Wednesday night with local residents recalling hearing a ‘bizarre rumbling’ and ‘thunderous crash’
A doorbell camera has caught the exact moment an earthquake struck Lancashire, delivering residents an ‘almighty’ wake-up call.
A 3.3-magnitude tremor was recorded off Silverdale’s coastline at 11.23pm on Wednesday evening (December 3). Local inhabitants reported sensing as if something had smashed into their properties due to the 3km-deep seismic event.
They recalled hearing a ‘bizarre rumbling’ and ‘thunderous crash’ as the tremor took place. A Silverdale local has shared doorbell footage capturing the precise instant the earthquake occurred.
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Emergency crews were swamped with calls regarding the disturbance before the quake received official confirmation. Ben Anslow, 23, was making his way home from the local when the seismic activity began.
He revealed: “It was like this really violent shake and a loud bang. At first I thought something had exploded.”, reports Lancs Live.
“I was quite relieved to find out that it was just an earthquake. Everybody came out on the street to see what had happened.
“All the neighbours came out. It was quite a shock actually, yeah, it definitely gave me a bit of anxiety.”
Ben reports the impact caused him to wobble slightly from side to side, though it wasn’t ‘excessive’. “It was more of a noise,” he informed the M.E. N.
“The shake wasn’t overly excessive on the ground, but I imagine quite a few people in buildings would have felt things shake. I know a lot of people have said they thought the chimneys were coming off roofs and things like that.
Ben Anslow explains what it felt like when 3.3-magnitude earthquake hit north west
“It was quite exciting and nerve-wracking at the same time… Everybody seems to be OK which is a good thing. My dog managed to remain undisturbed in the house apparently, which is quite a relief.”
Local resident Paul, 71, who chose not to disclose his surname, chimed in: “It was exciting. It was the middle of the night and you’re thinking, ‘what the f*** is that!’. We all ran out in our undergarments wondering what went on.”
David Moore, 71, was startled by the quake, initially fearing something had collided with his home. He recounted: “I’m in bed and there’s an almighty bang. It lasted around two seconds. Something I’ve never heard before.
“I thought something had hit the house because it was that loud. I got dressed and went outside. A couple of neighbours came out and we all sort of thought ‘what was it?’.
“The consensus was that it was a sonic boom. That’s what it sounded like, breaking the sound barrier. I said it was an earthquake, and they said ‘nah’. But waking up this morning they say it was an earthquake. I’ve never experienced anything like it before.”
Antique shop owners Charlotte Fotheringham and Michael Winder were also taken aback by the ‘weird rumble’ while in bed, with Michael describing it as feeling ‘more like an explosion’. “We thought it was inside the house,” he said.
“It was like this weird rumble. Luckily we’ve got cameras so I checked the cameras and everything was fine. It felt more like an explosion, your initial reaction isn’t that it’s an earthquake. It’s really bizarre.”
Charlotte added: “We were just going to sleep. Our bed was shaking… It made a noise like a really bad vibration and then a bang.”
The tremor was also experienced across neighbouring parts of Lancashire and the South Lakes. The BGS was flooded with reports of the earthquake being sensed in locations surrounding Carnforth, Morecambe, Heysham, Burton-in-Kendal and Arnside.
It also gathered several accounts of the quake being detected as far north as Kendal, west as Ulverston and south as Blackpool and Cleveleys.
Joni Ann Kennedy, 38, was tucked up in bed at her Morecambe home when the tremor hit. She said: “I was in bed with my granddaughter and it started shaking, but not violently.
“There was no bang, just a sound, like a gust of wind hitting the house. It freaked me out so I video called my mum who thought I’d been dreaming as she hadn’t felt a thing in her park home less than a five-minute drive away.
“I checked my cameras to see if they picked it up as I honestly thought my house had to be haunted.”
One resident from the village of Warton, roughly three miles from the epicentre, said: “There was a short rumble and a huge bang. It really felt like part of your house had fallen down.
“When I went outside to investigate I was relieved to see the neighbours there, all thinking the same thing. Everyone had run outside to see what was happening.
“I wouldn’t say it was tremors and there was no shaking – it was a very big bang. I would describe it as a rumble and then a huge bang, just as if part of your house had fallen down. It was fine once you realised all was well but I had to have a cup of tea afterwards.”
Officers confirmed nobody was hurt, whilst emergency crews rushed to evaluate potential damage after being swamped with calls regarding a ‘bang’ when the earthquake hit.
In a statement released during the early hours, a Lancaster police spokesperson revealed: “At 11.23pm on Wednesday night (December 3), we received reports of a loud explosion in the Carnforth area. There has been a minor earthquake in the area, near to the Lancashire and Cumbria border, measuring 3.3 magnitude.
“There have been no reports of anyone injured or damage caused but we have officers in the area, together with colleagues from the Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service and the North West Ambulance Service. If you know of any property that has been damaged or potentially, please contact 101 – quoting log 1613 of December 3.”
This marked the second earthquake to strike the UK this month, according to the British Geological Survey, following a 1-magnitude tremor in Newport, South Wales, on Monday. The organisation records between 200 and 300 earthquakes across the UK annually.
