Tiny UK seaside town rocked by earthquake as ‘violent BANG like a rocket launch’ wakes up Brits in early hours
A TINY seaside town has been rocked by an earthquake today with locals woken up by the “loud rumblings”.
The 2.2 magnitude tremor was logged by the British Geological Survey in Oban at 3.03am.
It was centred in Glen Lonan, about two miles from the town, at a depth of 2km but was even felt many miles away on the Isle of Mull.
On social media residents reported feeling the ground shake with one describing it as “a rocket launch”.
Others said their walls were “shaking”.
The tremor only lasted for a short while with some suggesting less than 10 seconds.
BGS said it was “felt by people in Oban, Mull and surrounding villages in the Argyll and Bute region, mainly from within around 10km of the epicentre”.
Reports described it as “more the sound of an explosion than a rumble” and “there was a violent crack and a bang”.
This is the second earthquake in the West Highlands this year.
A 2.9 magnitude quake was felt in Oban, Strontian, Mull and Kilmore on January 5 at around 9pm in the evening.
One social media user warned: “Small ones for now, until a massive one hits one day.”
There are roughly 200-300 quakes in Britain every year but the vast majority are so small that no one notices them.
However between 20-30 are over 2.0 magnitude which can be felt over a wider area.
The largest known Scottish earthquake occurred near Loch Awe in 1880 with a magnitude of 5.2.
Earthquakes in Scotland are most often attributed to glacial rebound.
The most damaging UK earthquake was in the Colchester area in 1884.
Some 1200 buildings needed repairs, chimneys collapsed and walls were cracked.
Scotland has been battered by more than 4,000 earthquakes in the past 50 years.
But few have had a significant impact on residents.