Residents in a small Lancashire village have described hearing "loud bangs" and feeling their homes shake after a 2.7-magnitude earthquake struck.
The British Geological Survey (BGS) said the tremor in Silverdale was recorded at 9.38am this morning, with its epicentre near the village and at a depth of around 3km.
The latest tremor is the fourth to affect the area within the past six months, following a magnitude 3.2 earthquake on December 3.
Residents said the shaking was "sudden and loud", with some initially believing there had been an accident, an explosion or activity at a nearby quarry.
Sarah, who lives in Silverdale, said she initially thought her “ironing board had fallen over in the airing cupboard” when she felt vibrations.
She told the BBC there had been a flurry of messages on the village’s Neighbourhood Watch WhatsApp group following the tremor.
“Some people said they heard a bang. Other people have said there were real vibrations underneath them in their houses,” she said.
Meanwhile, Aileen, who lives on the outskirts of the village, said she was about to get up when her wardrobe doors began shaking.
“I thought my husband had fallen off the toilet so I was shouting to him, ‘Are you all right?’
“There is a quarry on the outskirts of the village, and we just thought they were blasting,” she said.
Other residents reported similarly dramatic experiences. One report submitted to the BGS described the earthquake as sounding like “a lorry crashing into the house”.
Another resident said it sounded like a “really strong explosion” and that the shaking rattled doors and windows.
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Residents in nearby Warton also reported feeling the tremor. One said their “entire house shook”, while another compared the experience to a truck crashing into their home.
The earthquake was also felt further afield, with reports from Morecambe and Milnthorpe.
The latest tremor forms part of a sequence of earthquakes recorded in the Silverdale area since December.
Callum Harrison, from the BGS, said 28 tremors had been recorded in the area since the magnitude 3.2 earthquake last winter.
Most of those, he said, had been too small for people to feel, although around five or six tremors had been felt by residents.
“It is a high number for one single area but it's not necessarily something about Silverdale in particular - it's more so this initial magnitude 3.2 event,” Mr Harrison said.
He explained that an earthquake can exert force on surrounding faults, temporarily increasing the likelihood of further tremors in the area.
“When you have an earthquake it exerts quite a lot of force on the surrounding area/surrounding faults and so for the time being it increases the likelihood that you'll get earthquakes within a certain area,” he said.
Mr Harrison said this activity eventually decreases as the area settles, but that the process can take longer in regions less accustomed to earthquakes.
“So this is why we're seeing earthquakes that have been occurring for months since that initial event,” he added.
There have been no reports of significant damage or injuries following the latest tremor.
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