§ Mr. RedmondTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list by location and date the number of earthquakes that have been recorded in England and Wales during the last 10 years; what damage was recorded; and on what seismographic scale.
§ Mr. MoynihanThe seismic monitoring network which is operated by the British Geological Survey records several hundred earthquakes each year in Britain and offshore. However, only those above a magnitude of 2.5 on the Richter scale—about a dozen a year—are generally felt. Those recorded in the last decade in England and Wales are listed in the following table.
In general. even where moderate shaking was felt, little or no damage was caused—though about a dozen events in the last decade have caused minor damage such as cracks to plaster and two events (at Longtown in Cumbria on Boxing Day 1979 and on the Lleyn peninsula, in north Wales in July 1984) caused damage to chimneys and roof tiles.
The national monitoring network is currently being extended to improve its geographical coverage, e.g. in south-east England and Northern Ireland. This results from an initiative by my Department, together with the British Geological Survey, to bring together those in Government and industry with interests in seismic matters. My Department is also funding an 18-month research project, which started in September this year, to provide a preliminary assessment of seismic hazards and risk in the United Kingdom.
509W
Earthquakes with a Richter magnitude greater than 2.5 recorded in England and Wales by the British Geological Survey, 1979–89 Year and Location Magnitude Date 1979 Mansfield, Notts. 3.1 7 October Mansfield, Notts 3.0 9 October Longtown, Cumbria 4.8 26 December 1980 Longtown, Cumbria 4.1 1 January Cwmbran, Gwent 3.0 12 January Longtown, Cumbria 2.7 25 January Longtown, Cumbria 2.6 28 January Longtown, Cumbria 3.2 7 May Talke area, Staffs 2.7 7 July Talke area, Staffs 3.1 8 July Stoke area, Staffs 2.5 17 July Stoke area, Staffs 2.7 19 July Longtown, Cumbria 2.5 30 July Stoke coalfield, Staffs 3.0 7 August Stoke coalfield, Staffs 2.6 14 August Talke area, Staffs 3.2 9 November Talke area, Staffs 2.5 9 November
Year and Location Magnitude Date Longtown, Cumbria 3.5 13 December 1981 Constantine, Cornwall 3.5 25 February Talke area, Staffs 2.5 6 April Stoke coalfield, Staffs 3.1 24 May Nottingham 2.7 2 June Liskeard, Cornwall 2.5 12 June Talke area, Staffs 2.8 5 August Bishop Auckland, Co. Durham 2.5 18 October Flamborough Head, Humberside 3.7 27 October Cwmbran, Gwent 2.7 9 November 1982 Pont-Faen, Powys 2.6 4 April Stoke on Trent, Staffs 2.7 9 April near Basingstoke, Hants 3.0 19 July near Ffestiniog, Gwynedd 2.6 9 August 1983 Wigan, Greater Manchester 2.6 28 November 1984 East Retford, Nottinghamshire 3.2 22 March near Weymouth, Dorset 3.1 3 April Felindre, Powys 3.3 15 April Nottingham 3.1 30 May Selby, North Yorkshire 3.0 4 June Lleyn peninsula, Gwynedd 5.4 19 July Lleyn peninsula, Gwynedd 2.9 19 July Lleyn peninsula, Gwynedd 2.5 19 July Lleyn peninsula, Gwynedd 2.5 20 July Lleyn peninsula, Gwynedd 2.8 23 July Lleyn peninsula, Gwynedd 4.0 29 July Lleyn peninsula, Gwynedd 2.5 29 July Lleyn peninsula, Gwynedd 2.8 30 July Lleyn peninsula, Gwynedd 2.7 4 August Lleyn peninsula, Gwynedd 3.6 6 August Lleyn peninsula, Gwynedd 4.3 18 August Accrington, Lancashire 3.2 13 October 1985 offshore Ramsgate, Kent 3.0 15 April near Scunthorpe, Humberside 2.6 1 June Black Mountains, Powys 2.5 21 August Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire 2.6 16 November Buckingham 2.5 18 November Fleet, Hampshire 2.7 2 December 1986 Lleyn peninsula, Gwynedd 2.7 15 April Constantine, Cornwall 2.9 2 September Oxford 2.9 26 December 1987 Market Drayton, Salop 2.6 23 February Bridgnorth, Salop 2.5 12 March Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire 2.7 1 May Manchester 2.6 5 December 1988 Ambleside, Cumbria 3.2 12 September Ambleside, Cumbria 3.0 12 September Bridgwater, Somerset 2.8 23 October 1989 No earthquakes with a magnitude greater than 2.5 have yet been recorded.