People in central southern England have described feeling tremors in their homes after an earthquake with a magnitude of 2.3.
The British Geological Survey said the small quake at 11.12pm on Sunday was centred under Thame, a market town in south Oxfordshire.
People in Chinnor, on the Buckinghamshire border, and Princes Risborough, Aylesbury and Bledlow in Buckinghamshire reported feeling the ground shake late on Sunday night.
What happened my house just shook #chinnor
— Amber Shankland (@pinkaquablue) March 6, 2016
Surprised to hear about an earthquake hitting Chinnor!
— Jason Lee (@ForeverAYellow) March 7, 2016
Thought I was going mad when the house shook but there was actually an earthquake! 😁
— Alex Chivers (@alexchivers14) March 6, 2016
@BritGeoSurvey earthquake felt in Chinnor, South Oxfordshire at about 23:10 this evening
— TallAndy (@TallAndy) March 6, 2016
Each year in the UK there are dozens of earthquakes big enough to be felt by people and a few hundred smaller ones recorded by sensitive instruments, according to the British Geological Survey.
Driving forces for earthquake activity in the UK, which tends to be small and causes little damage, remain unclear. Regional compression caused by motion of the Earth’s tectonic plates, uplift resulting from the melting of ice sheets that covered many parts of Britain thousands of years ago, as well as human activity such as coalmining and fracking exploration, are possible causes.
