Earthquake sounding like 'bomb', 'explosion' and 'car accident' hits UK region

25 February 2023 , 06:57

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The epicentre was close to the Rhondda Valley (Image: John Myers)

Residents have told of their fear at hearing sounds “like a bomb going off” and a “car accident” as an earthquake hit South Wales.

The 3.8 magnitude quake's epicentre was around three miles north west of Merthyr Tydfil but it was felt more than 100 miles away in parts of the Midlands when it struck at midnight on Friday, WalesOnline report.

People quickly took to social media to tell of their shock with many woken in their beds by their homes “shaking”.

It happened at a “very shallow” depth of two kilometres which means that they can be felt more strongly, states volcanodiscovery.com.

One person said that it felt “like a bomb going off” and others also described it as being like an “explosion” while some said they thought there had been a car accident.

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A 3.8 magnitude earthquake hit South Wales (www.emsc-csem.org)

"It definitely felt a lot worse than a light shaking in Ebbw Vale. We thought someone had crashed into the cars on our drive. Frightening! Brought the whole estate out wondering what was going on! The whole house shook to the core," wrote Danielle Morgan on facebook.

Another person said: “Heard loud bang in Gilwern went outside with torch trying to see what on earth it was.”

Many others also thought that the sonic boom had been some kind of accident.

Elaine Tantum Howell wrote: "Same for us in Radyr, it sounded like the roof had fallen into the attic and everything shook!"

While Shelly Organ stated: "Being in Troedyrhiw we honestly thought someone had crashed into a wall so we checked the children were still sleeping and went out to check and there were a few in the street thinking the same. It made the house shake a little where it felt like something happened outside, glad it didn't though."

The top ten largest UK earthquakes

Another person said: " Dogs were frightened and barking. It shocked me too, felt like something heavy falling over upstairs. Abertillery."

While Jason Humphrys stated: "I heard a loud bang that sounded like a bomb just went off then my entire kitchen shook, my cat was frightened — it was weird, it only lasted seconds but it left an impact."

And Kath Cartwright in Newbridge wrote on Facebook: "The bedroom wall was shaking… I had the light on so saw it plain as day. The whole house shook! A scary moment! Frightened the life out of me."

While spared the more serious quakes seen elsewhere in the world, the UK is no stranger to seismological activity, with between 200 and 300 earthquakes located within our borders every year according to the British Geological Survey (BGS).

Max Channon