Residents in a Scottish town were awakened by an earthquake. Some compared the tremor to a bomb going off.
The quake’s depth was two kilometers. It centered in Glen Lonan, a couple miles from Oban. People on the Isle of Mull felt it too. More tremors occurred at 8:09 am and 8:27 am. Social media buzzed with reports.
People said the ground shook. One person described it as a “rocket launch”. Others felt walls shaking. The tremor was short, maybe ten seconds. BGS said people felt it in Oban and Mull. They also felt it in nearby villages.
The area was within ten kilometers of the center. Reports mentioned an explosion sound. One report said a violent crack and bang happened. Some reported windows rattling and rumbling. This region had another quake this year. A 2.9 magnitude quake occurred on January 5.
People in Oban, Mull, and Kilmore felt it. Someone online warned about a future “massive one”. Britain has about 200-300 quakes yearly. Most are too small to notice. Twenty to thirty quakes exceed magnitude 2.0.
These magnitude quakes are felt more widely. The largest Scottish quake hit near Loch Awe in 1880. It had a magnitude of 5.2. Scottish earthquakes are often from glacial rebound. Ice covered north UK roughly 10,500 years ago.
The ice pushed rocks into the Earth. Rocks rose slowly after the ice melted. This causes occasional earthquakes. The Atlantic Ocean’s expansion also creates stress. It pushes Eurasia east, and Africa pushes north.
The most damaging UK quake hit Colchester in 1884. Around 1200 buildings needed repair. Chimneys fell, and walls cracked. Scotland had 4,000+ quakes in 50 years. Few greatly affected people.
