Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Wales Online
Wales Online
National
Nisha Mal

Leighton Buzzard hit by earthquake for the third time in two weeks

The magnitude three tremor hit the Bedfordshire town at 8.32 on Tuesday morning, the British Geological Survey confirmed.

It was a second aftershock following the initial event on September 8, which was a magnitude 3.5 event.

Glenn Ford, a seismologist with the BGS, told PA: “What we’re seeing here is a small aftershock from that earthquake.”

The first aftershock, which was measured by the BGS at magnitude 2.1, hit on September 14.

While earthquakes have not occurred frequently in the area in the past, Mr Ford said the activity was “typical behaviour” which had been seen in different areas of the UK “on many occasions”.

He added: “There’s obviously been some stress been building up in that particular area and we’ve had the initial earthquake.

“It’s maybe just still rebalancing the stress regime in that particular part of the world and we’re getting these little aftershocks occurring as well.”

He added that residents should be prepared for potential further aftershocks.

He said: “It probably will settle down soon but could we get another one?

“We certainly could, but when it could happen, we don’t know.”

A BGS tweet about Tuesday’s quake read: “We’re receiving reports about the earthquake, which followed previous events in the same area on 8 & 13 Sept, with magnitudes 3.5 & 2.1

“Reports describe ‘only lasted a couple of seconds’ & ‘just felt a single jolt, a bit like being in a car that has done an emergency stop!’”

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.