Britons have been awoken to the ground roaring and shaking after the shallow earthquake
A 3.3-magnitude earthquake has struck England, with Britons across the UK awoken in the middle of the night. The British Geological Survey (BGS) confirmed the earthquake – as reports roll in from Lancashire to London.
Data from the BGS data indicates the quake struck three kilometres under Lancashire at 11.23 on Wednesday night,at a depth of 1.86 miles (3km). It told Sky News the earth was felt moving “across the South Lakes and Lancashire, mainly within 20 kilometres of the epicentre, including Lancashire, Kendal and Ulverston”.
Britons have begun feeling their homes shaking and rumbling sounds. As per their data, the earthquake came in slightly higher at 3.4 on the Richter scale. At time of writing, the site had fielded 1056 shake reports so far.
Volcano Discovery reported that the strike is the second earthquake to hit Great Britain in the last 24 hours.
“In the past 24 hours, England has had two quakes of magnitude 3.0, the largest being a 3.4 quake,” a spokesperson said.
One post included that the earthquake “felt like an explosion and vibration coming from underground”.
Another added that it was “so powerful to shake the whole house” and somebody else commented that it “sounded like bricks falling/the roof falling in.”
A local in Carnforth reported the earthquake to Volcano Discovery, telling the site the sensation of the quake was difficult to describe. ”I thought something had crashed into the house or [the house was] house falling down! Very scary and never felt anything like that before.”
Another person in Carnforth said they thought “a vehicle had crashed into the building” when they felt the earth rumble.
Someone in Blackpool said their room shook from side to side for up to five seconds after hearing “rumbling”, before the room “felt as though it was moving.”
Another in London even reported feeling a “weak shaking” at their Chelsea address.
They added: “Since 2025, England has had 66 quakes of magnitude up to 3.4: Five quakes registered above a magnitude 3, 16 registered between a magnitude two and three, and 45 registered below magnitude 2, that people normally don’t feel.”
Each year, the BGS detects between 200 and 300 earthquakes located in the UK.
