earthquake in Scotland

**Fran** · 10-Jun-06, 02:18

did anyone hear on the news today that there was a minor earthquake in ross shire where the houses shook and people thought their chimneys had fallen down. didn't hear the whole story. no doubt it will be in the papers tomorrow.

**angela5** · 10-Jun-06, 08:12

Homes were rocked yesterday afternoon by an earthquake which was felt across a wide area of remote Wester Ross in the north-west Highlands.

The lunchtime tremor, which centred on the idyllic coastal village of Applecross, measured 3.1 on the Richter Scale.

It was felt in communities at least 25 miles away and was the strongest Scottish quake since a measurement of 3.2 was recorded on Raasay, off Skye, in 2004.

People reported floors and windows vibrating just after 1.20pm.

Julian Bukits, an assistant seismologist with the British Geological Survey in Edinburgh, said: "People reported that the whole floor vibrated and that the whole house shook. Somebody even said they thought their chimney had crashed down."

At Strathcarron, Olof Preston a crew manager at the local fire station, said: "I was at a neighbour's having a cup of coffee when there was an almighty bang. The whole house vibrated. It was almost like a truck hitting the house.

"It had sounded like an explosion. I was a bit concerned, so we all ran outside. I knew my brother's girlfriend was in his house nearby, so I ran in to see if she had blown something up.

"A neighbour across the road, who I think had worked a nightshift, was woken by the blast. It lasted just seconds. It was almost instant, like a 'bang', a deep, groaning bang underneath us.

"There's no damage, but you could feel the walls vibrate as if something very heavy had fallen through the roof. It was very strange."

Mr Preston, 38, said it was only when he logged on to the internet that he established the cause was an earthquake.

Relieved that no one was hurt and that no damage had been done, he joked: "Applecross is hosting a seafood and music festival this weekend, a big event for the area. Maybe it'll go off with a bang."

Harold Cameron, 50, who runs a fish farm near Loch Torridon, said: "I thought it was thunder at first and then there was a rumble and the house began shaking and there was a bang.

"I thought something had hit the side of the house. We weren't frightened or anything but we went outside. There was no damage so we went to see the neighbours who felt it as well and we came to the conclusion that it must have been an earthquake."

Mr Cameron, who has lived in the area all his life, said he had never experienced anything like it before.