Corby earthquake: Witnesses report sound 'like an explosion' as seismologists confirm tremor

Seismogram from a nearby monitoring station in Leicester. Credit: BGS

The British Geological Survey (BGS) has confirmed that Northamptonshire experienced a minor earthquake on Friday morning.

The tremor was recorded at 11.31am BST (10.31am UTC) and, according to the organisation, witnesses reported that it "sounded like an explosion" and "felt a moderate shaking and heard a moderate rumbling sound".

The quake had a magnitude measured at 2.3 and a depth of 6km (3.7 miles). No damage was reported.

A resident in east Northamptonshire said she felt it in Brigstock, causing a "gentle tinkling of the glassware on our kitchen shelf".

Small tremors are not uncommon in the British Isles - with the BGS estimating that between 200 and 300 are detected every year.

Last month the BGS recorded small tremors in Elveden in Suffolk and Holland-on-Sea in Essex.

A close up of the seismogram Credit: BGS
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