Leighton Buzzard hit by 3.0 magnitude earthquake – third tremor in two weeks

Leighton Buzzard has been hit by a 3.0 magnitude earthquake – the third tremor in two weeks – according to the British Geological Survey (BSG).

The tremor was recorded this morning at 8.32am at a depth of 6.2 miles (10km).

It was felt by residents in the local Bedfordshire area who took to social media to report their homes rattling.

One tweeted to say they “felt a jolt”, another said their house “rumbled and shook”.

The BSG said they are investigating but the early location was given as just north of Leighton Buzzard.

It’s the third earthquake to hit the area in the space of two weeks.

The last tremor hit at 11.20pm on September 13. It was measured by the BGS at magnitude 2.1.

It was thought to be an aftershock from the original quake on September 8 which was measured at magnitude 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, said 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.”

Earthquake expert Dr Matthew Blackett, a reader in natural hazards at Coventry University, said the Leighton Buzzard tremors were likely caused by the fracturing of solid rock in “hidden fault lines”, several hundred metres below the surface.

He said: “What seems to have happened is that this was an initial earthquake in a hidden fault – some stress or other has caused it.

“These two subsequent events are a readjustment of the fault lines to come back to some sort of stability.

“It is quite possible that that sequence is now done, but it might be that there are still stresses there.

“If there are (further tremors), I think it will only be minor events.”

The European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre put the location of the earthquake 11 miles (18km) west of Luton and 8 miles (13km) south east of Milton Keynes.

They have collected testimonies from people who felt the tremor.

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.”

(c) Sky News 2020: Leighton Buzzard hit by 3.0 magnitude earthquake – third tremor in two weeks