On 27 February 2008 at 00:56:47.8s GMT an earthquake occurred at

Market Rasen Market Rasen ( ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish within the West Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. The River Rase runs through it east to west, approximately north-east from Lincoln, England, Lincoln, eas ...

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (), abbreviated ''Lincs'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber regions of England. It is bordered by the East Riding of Yorkshire across the Humber estuary to th ...

. According to the

British Geological Survey The British Geological Survey (BGS) is a partly publicly funded body which aims to advance Earth science, geoscientific knowledge of the United Kingdom landmass and its continental shelf by means of systematic surveying, monitoring and research. ...

the

earthquake An earthquakealso called a quake, tremor, or tembloris the shaking of the Earth's surface resulting from a sudden release of energy in the lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from those so weak they ...

registered a reading of 5.2 on the

Richter scale The Richter scale (), also called the Richter magnitude scale, Richter's magnitude scale, and the Gutenberg–Richter scale, is a measure of the strength of earthquakes, developed by Charles Richter in collaboration with Beno Gutenberg, and pr ...

, with its

epicentre The epicenter (), epicentre, or epicentrum in seismology is the point on the Earth's surface directly above a hypocenter or focus, the point where an earthquake or an underground explosion originates. Determination The primary purpose of a s ...

2.5 miles (4 km) north of

and 15 miles (24 km) south-west of

Grimsby Grimsby or Great Grimsby is a port town in Lincolnshire, England with a population of 86,138 (as of 2021). It is located near the mouth on the south bank of the Humber that flows to the North Sea. Grimsby adjoins the town of Cleethorpes dir ...

. The duration of the earthquake was confirmed as roughly 10 seconds.

Spread of effect

The tremors were felt across a wide area of

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

and

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

, from

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...

in the

south South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both west and east. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþa ...

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne, or simply Newcastle ( , Received Pronunciation, RP: ), is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is England's northernmost metropolitan borough, located o ...

in the

north North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...

, and as far west as Bangor,

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

. They were also reported in the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

, and the far north of

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. Structural damage was recorded in some areas, including one case where a

chimney A chimney is an architectural ventilation structure made of masonry, clay or metal that isolates hot toxic exhaust gases or smoke produced by a boiler, stove, furnace, incinerator, or fireplace from human living areas. Chimneys are typical ...

collapsed and injured a person in

Wombwell Wombwell () is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley in South Yorkshire, England. In the 2011 census, data for the town was split between the ward of Wombwell and small sections that fell into the wards of Darfield (specifically the a ...

South Yorkshire South Yorkshire is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the north, the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north-east, Lincolnshire ...

Cause

The

was caused by the sudden rupture and motion along a

strike-slip fault In geology, a fault is a planar fracture or discontinuity in a volume of rock across which there has been significant displacement as a result of rock-mass movements. Large faults within Earth's crust result from the action of plate tectonic ...

, beneath Lincolnshire. Earthquake motion occurred over a time span of ~2 minutes but it was most intense and was felt at the surface for just 10 to 30 seconds; maximum vertical

ground motion Ground motion is the movement of the Earth’s surface from earthquakes or explosions. Ground motion is produced by seismic waves that are generated by sudden slip on a fault or sudden pressure at the explosive source and travel through the Eart ...

at the epicentre of the earthquake was only ~1 mm. The observed

focal mechanism The focal mechanism of an earthquake describes the Fault (geology)#Slip.2C heave.2C throw, deformation in the Hypocenter, source region that generates the seismic waves. In the case of a Fault (geology), fault-related event, it refers to the ori ...

implies either

sinistral Sinistral and dextral, in some scientific fields, are the two types of chirality ("handedness") or relative direction. The terms are derived from the Latin words for "left" (''sinister'') and "right" (''dexter''). Other disciplines use different ...

motion on a N–S or

dextral Sinistral and dextral, in some scientific fields, are the two types of chirality ("handedness") or relative direction. The terms are derived from the Latin words for "left" (''sinister'') and "right" (''dexter''). Other disciplines use different ...

motion on an E–W oriented strike-slip fault. The nine aftershocks observed, ~ SSW of the main earthquake event, point to an approximately N–S oriented fault. From the 5.2 magnitude of the main earthquake, a motion of a few centimetres along a ~ long fault rupture is derived. The energy released was 3.98 trillion

joules The joule ( , or ; symbol: J) is the unit of energy in the International System of Units (SI). In terms of SI base units, one joule corresponds to one kilogram- metre squared per second squared One joule is equal to the amount of work don ...

(equal to the detonation of ~950

tonnes The tonne ( or ; symbol: t) is a unit of mass equal to 1,000 kilograms. It is a non-SI unit accepted for use with SI. It is also referred to as a metric ton in the United States to distinguish it from the non-metric units of the s ...

of TNT). Unlike typical earthquakes worldwide, the earthquakes of

Northern Europe The northern region of Europe has several definitions. A restrictive definition may describe northern Europe as being roughly north of the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, which is about 54th parallel north, 54°N, or may be based on other ge ...

are

intraplate earthquake An intraplate earthquake occurs in the ''interior'' of a Plate tectonics, tectonic plate, in contrast to an interplate earthquake on the ''boundary'' of a tectonic plate. They are relatively rare compared to the more familiar interplate earthqu ...

s, meaning they are not close to

tectonic plate Plate tectonics (, ) is the scientific theory that the Earth's lithosphere comprises a number of large tectonic plates, which have been slowly moving since 3–4 billion years ago. The model builds on the concept of , an idea developed durin ...

boundaries. Most intraplate earthquakes in northern Europe, including the

British Isles The British Isles are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner Hebrides, Inner and Outer Hebr ...

, are thought to be driven by distant tectonic stresses – a combination of E–W North Atlantic Ridge and N–S African plate regional stress fields, and local mantle conditions. Indeed, the motion on the strike-slip fault responsible for the earthquake is compatible with a local NW–SE stress field; a product of the E–W and N–S regional stress fields. Only a minority of earthquakes in the UK are related to

post-glacial rebound Post-glacial rebound (also called isostatic rebound or crustal rebound) is the rise of land masses after the removal of the huge weight of ice sheets during the last glacial period, which had caused isostatic depression. Post-glacial rebound an ...

e.g. the minor earthquakes (<3.5 ) of western Scotland, where

glacier A glacier (; or ) is a persistent body of dense ice, a form of rock, that is constantly moving downhill under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires ...

s ~1 km thick existed during the peak of the last

ice age An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages, and g ...

Effects

The earthquake resulted in structural damage to many homes and businesses in the epicentral area. Buildings as large as apartment blocks were reported to have shaken for up to 30 seconds afterwards. Birds and pets became highly agitated. There were no deaths, but a 19-year-old man in

suffered a broken pelvis when a piece of chimney fell through the roof onto his attic bed. The earthquake was felt by people as far south as

Bournemouth Bournemouth ( ) is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole unitary authority area, in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. At the 2021 census, the built-up area had a population of 196,455, making it the largest ...

, where it was felt as a mild but noticeable vibration, and as far away as

Bangor, Northern Ireland Bangor ( ; ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in County Down, Northern Ireland, on the southern side of Belfast Lough. It is within the Belfast metropolitan area and is 13 miles (22 km) east of Belfast city centre, to whic ...

, where it woke people. Police in the

Midlands The Midlands is the central region of England, to the south of Northern England, to the north of southern England, to the east of Wales, and to the west of the North Sea. The Midlands comprises the ceremonial counties of Derbyshire, Herefor ...

received more than 5,000 telephone calls in an hour from members of the public regarding the earthquake. The earthquake caused

power cuts A power outage, also called a blackout, a power failure, a power blackout, a power loss, a power cut, or a power out is the complete loss of the electrical power network supply to an end user. There are many causes of power failures in an el ...

in some areas. A church in

March, Cambridgeshire March is a The Fens, Fenland market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Isle of Ely area of Cambridgeshire, England. It was the county town of the Isle of Ely which was a separate administrative county from 1889 to 1965. Th ...

reported that, since the earthquake, water had been coming up from the ground into the cellar at a rate of per hour. The spire of St Mary Magdalene church at

Waltham on the Wolds Waltham on the Wolds is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Waltham on the Wolds and Thorpe Arnold, in the Melton (borough), Melton borough of Leicestershire, England. It lies about north-east of Melton Mowbray and south- ...

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire to the north, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire to the south-east, Warw ...

was damaged and was to be rebuilt at a cost of £100,000. Also damaged were the spires of St Andrew's Church in

Haconby Haconby is a village and civil parish in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. The population of the civil parish at the 2001 census was 448 increasing to 532 at the 2011 census. It is situated on the western edge of the Lincoln ...

, St Andrew's Church in

Witham on the Hill __NOTOC__ Witham on the Hill is a village and civil parish in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. The population of the civil parish was 260 at the 2011 census. History The hall is a Grade II listed building, dating from ca 1 ...

and St Vincent's Church in Caythorpe, all three in

South Kesteven South Kesteven is a Non-metropolitan district, local government district in Lincolnshire, England, forming part of the traditional Kesteven division of the county. Its council is based in Grantham. The district also includes the towns of Bourne, ...

. The cost of insurance payouts was estimated to be around £30 million, with the majority of damage being done to chimneys, roof tiles and by falling masonry.

Magnitude

The tremor was the largest earthquake to affect the UK since the 1984 Llŷn Peninsula earthquake, which measured 5.4 on the

. The

gave the earthquake a reading of 5.2 M_L, while the United States Geological Survey reported it measured 4.8 M_b. The

French Atomic Energy Commission The French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission, or CEA (French: Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives), is a French public government-funded research organisation in the areas of energy, defense and secur ...

estimated the magnitude was 5.4M_L.

Aftershocks

A total of nine aftershocks were recorded. The largest, measuring 2.8 on the Richter scale, occurred around five weeks after the initial event, on 5 April at 13:57 GMT.

Responses

Firefighting crews were called out to 50 incidents and 1 fire as a result of the quake. Building Control & Street Force officers worked quickly to assess damage in the area around West Lindsey, and West Lindsey District Council also urged people to call their telephone number if people were concerned about damage to their homes. Trent Street in Gainsborough was closed to traffic whilst a local builder assessed if properties were structurally safe, after 1 family was evacuated from their house following concerns about collapses.

Significance

The BGS described the earthquake as an "extremely large earthquake in UK terms but not large in world terms". Approximately 200 earthquakes occur in the UK every year, approximately 175 of which are too weak to be noticed by humans.

Notes

References

External links

Report
from the

Earthquake information
by the ''European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre''
Earthquake information
by the

United States Geological Survey The United States Geological Survey (USGS), founded as the Geological Survey, is an agency of the U.S. Department of the Interior whose work spans the disciplines of biology, geography, geology, and hydrology. The agency was founded on Mar ...

Report
from

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...

Report
from

Sky News Sky News is a British free-to-air television news channel, live stream news network and news organisation. Sky News is distributed via an English-language radio news service, and through online channels. It is owned by Sky Group, a division of ...

Location of epicentre
on

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Report and video
from the ''

Doncaster Free Press The ''Doncaster Free Press'' is a weekly newspaper in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. It is owned by National World. Content of the newspaper The ''Free Press'', or ''DFP'' as it is sometimes known, is published each Thursday and is cu ...

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:2008 England Earthquake

2008 England

Earthquake An earthquakealso called a quake, tremor, or tembloris the shaking of the Earth's surface resulting from a sudden release of energy in the lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from those so weak they ...

West Lindsey District 2000s in Lincolnshire 2000s in South Yorkshire February 2008 in the United Kingdom