UK weather: Snow to hit north of England and Scotland

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The tremors, caused by a 5.1 magnitude earthquake, were felt in parts of northern Scotland. People reported their homes “rattling” and being woken up by the tremor. According to the British Geological Survey (BGS), it was felt in Shetland, Aberdeen, Ellon, Stonehaven, Helmsdale, Inverurie, Lairg, Huntly, Banff and Fraserburgh.

It reported people saying that they were “lying in bed and heard a low rumbling sound”.

Another report cited “three waves of vibration in about three seconds”, while a third said, “it woke me up as windows rattled”.

A fourth report said the “bed shook and windows creaked”, while a fifth said the “mirror rattled”.

Someone else added that they “felt it as well as heard it”, saying it was “enough to wake me up”.

The tremor originated 180km northeast of Shetland.

The United States Geological Survey said more than 70 people reported feeling the earthquake, which lasted for around two minutes.

The UK sees roughly 200 to 300 earthquakes each year, according to BGS.

However, most of them are too small to be noticed.

On average, the UK only sees earthquakes above a 5.0 magnitude once every eight years.

Speaking to the Mirror, Shetland resident Ryan Thomson said the earthquake sounded like “extremely loud thunder”.

He said: “I initially woke up with the sound which was very similar to a very low flying jet or extremely loud thunder, it wasn’t until I saw the light shade moving that I clicked that this could be a small earthquake.

“There wasn’t much movement here, I believe other parts of Shetland felt that more, but the noise was extremely loud and quite alarming.

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“Earthquakes are of course very rare but not unheard of here in Shetland.

“There was one around five years ago in a similar place, but this was certainly the loudest and most noticeable one I’ve ever experienced in Shetland.”

There have been two other earthquakes this month in the UK.

However, they were both below 1.0 magnitude.

The most damaging earthquake on record in the UK took place in the Colchester area in 1884.

Around 1200 buildings were damaged, including collapsed chimneys and cracked walls.

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