The earthquake that damaged nearly 500 homes in the south east corner of
Britain could have been on a far bigger scale, experts said last night.
Seismologists have been expecting a quake off the Kent coast for decades and
feared a repeat of fatal tremors that struck in the past and registered 5.8
on the Richter scale.
Although houses in Folkestone, Kent, were damaged by Saturday’s earthquake,
which measured 4.3 on the Richter scale, only one person was injured, not
seriously.
Roger Musson, of the British Geological Survey, said: “We’ve been waiting for
an earthquake to happen on this structure for a long time. I’ve been very
concerned about getting a repeat of the 1580 earthquake. If that had
happened, we would have had a death toll that would have exceeded the death
toll of all British earthquakes by a factor of five – perhaps as many as 50
dead. If that fault is true to form, then it’s good news because its got
that out of its system.”
Shepway District Council said that the quake, with an epicentre 14km (9 miles)
south of Dover, had left 73 houses in Folkestone too dangerous to inhabit.
The council has advised the owners of a further 30 houses not to return home
until inspections have taken place.
A spokesman for Eurotunnel said that the Channel Tunnel was unaffected by the
earthquake. “It was built with tremors in mind,” he said. “It’s built to
survive earthquakes with a significantly higher magnitude than the one on
Saturday.”
The Association of British Insurers said that the total cost of damage could
run into tens of millions of pounds. A spokesman said: “The last serious
earthquake that struck Britain in Dudley resulted in a bill of around £15 to
£20 million.”
The Dover Straits has been the epicentre of two powerful earthquakes, in 1382
and 1580, measuring 5.8 on the Richter scale. Saturday’s earthquake, the
biggest in Britain since 2002, struck at 8.18am, as most Folkestone
residents were still in bed. A 30-year-old woman sustained minor injuries.
Those caught up in the earthquake talked of cracking walls and falling
brickwork. The Foord area of the town took the brunt of the tremor, with
chimney stacks falling into the streets. Almost 100 people sought refuge in
a centre set up by the Salvation Army, where about a dozen temporarily
homeless residents spent Saturday night. Captain Peter West, a Salvation
Army minister, said: “A lot of people were upset and confused but there was
no serious trauma.”
Hilary Bourne, 59, who spent the night at the centre, said: “We have taken a
walk back home to have a look at the house but my husband and I are still in
deep shock.
“Our street looks awful, with fallen chimneys, bricks and roof slates
everywhere. Our cat went missing during the shake and I am worried she is
buried under the rubble. Our dog is all right but he had to spend the night
in police care.”
Kent Fire and Rescue Service took more than 400 emergency calls on Saturday,
ranging from structural damage to gas smells. Charlie Hendry, chief fire
officer, said: “If you think in a normal weekend we would have about 60 or
70 calls, it gives you an idea of the magnitude of the demands on our
services.
“It was an extremely scary experience being shaken out of your bed at 8.20 in
the morning and most people were very confused, and it was a very confused
picture. I think in some ways it was really miraculous that more people
didn’t get hurt.”
Electricity and gas supplies to houses in some parts of Kent were cut off but
later restored. Scottish and Southern Energy, which supplies gas to the
area, investigated 300 “possible gas escapes” in the system. EDF Energy, the
local electricity supplier, said that several thousand customers had
temporarily lost power.
Michael Howard, the MP for Folkestone and Hythe, said he thought that the town
had escaped remarkably lightly. “Obviously there is a fair amount of damage
and it is tough on all those people who weren’t able to spend the night at
home. It could have been so much worse, so I think we are really grateful
that we came out of this as a community relatively unscathed.”
Between 200 and 300 earthquakes are detected in Britain every year. Tremors
registering between 4.0 and 4.9 on the Richter scale hit the mainland on
average every two years.
The earthquake has helped seismologists to understand fault patterns under the
English Channel. Dr Musson said: “It’s very difficult to map faults out at
sea. Saturday’s earthquake was helpful in the imaging of that fault. We now
know the alignment – that it is angled towards the North East.”
Earth movers
—Seismologists chart historic quakes by examining monastic records for
evidence of the effects
—Tremors have been recorded as early as 1120, in the Vale of Trent.
Shakespeare spoke of a tremor in Kent in 1580, in Romeo and Juliet
—Britain is hit by up to 300 quakes a year. The most powerful was in June
1931, when one measuring 6.1 on the Richter scale struck 60 miles out in the
North Sea, twisting a church spire at Filey, North Yorkshire
—11 people are thought to have been killed, or committed suicide, during
quakes in Britain. Five people are thought to have been killed in 1884 by a
tremor in Colchester, Essex
Apparently, the Richter Scale was developed in 1935 ? ? ?
kay, kent, U.K.
we felt the tremour in camber on the weekend. very strange to be woken up by a shaking bed!
alan, tilbury, essex
Isn't it obvious that the fault line originated from underneath No. 10 when Tony Blair took office about ten years ago. The cracks are spreading across the country rapidly so don't be surprised when the houses prices collapse all of a sudden!
Wing, Poole, UK
Living across the bay from San Francisco, my wife and I are quite familiar with earthquakes. We spent 5 very pleasant days in Folkestone at the end of August, beginning of September 2005 and have many happy memories of our visit. Thus we were saddened to learn that a quake has hit this beautiful and peaceful corner of the world. Our best wishes for a prompt recovery and repair of damages.
Edward P. Allen, Pinole, California
i really think that an earthquakes are really scarry i think that people should do something to raise money and help the people that have lost something or some one
samantha waterhiuse, bradford, united kingdom
How do you know, I wonder, that the 1382 quake measured 5.8 on the Richter scale ? It sounds a bit precise to me !
Neil Stevenson, London, UK