Earthquake rocks Devon and Cornwall

Tuesday, Sep 11 2012 

Dozens of householders were woken during the night after an earthquake measuring 3.6 on the Richter scale rocked parts of Devon and Cornwall, police said today.

People who felt the tremors described their fears as floors and walls shook.

Shaun Mather, who lives in a 150-year-old miner’s cottage at Callington, Cornwall, said: “My first impression was it was a nuclear bomb. For a strange reason, I don’t know why, that is what I thought.”

The quake occurred just before midnight and its epicentre was in the Bristol Channel 25 miles (40kms) west of Bude on the Cornish coast, a spokesman for the British Geological Survey said.

“The earthquake measured 3.6 on the Richter scale and there were reports of houses vibrating and rumbling,” said the spokesman.

Police said there were no reports of any injuries but there were some cases of structural damage to buildings.

A spokesman for Devon and Cornwall Constabulary said reports of the quake came in between 12.45am and 1.30am today.

Inspector Steve Harrison said: “We received in excess of 40 telephone calls from members of the public throughout Devon and Cornwall, particularly in west, mid and north Devon and in east, mid and north Cornwall, reporting earth tremors.

“We have received no reports of any injuries but there have been three instances of minor structural damage.”

He said the British Geological Survey had confirmed the quake’s centre was 30-40km to the west of Hartland Point and 40-50km off Trevose Head.

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