England Swings Like…

…California!!!

From Bloomberg.com tomorrow morning:

England Hit by 5.2 Quake

By Kari Lundgren

Feb. 27 (Bloomberg) -- The U.K. was hit by its biggest earthquake since 1984 early today when a magnitude 5.2 temblor struck in Lincolnshire, eastern England, the British Geological Survey said.

The quake hit at 12:56 a.m. local time about 125 miles (200 kilometers) north of London and was felt across England.

Chimneys were damaged in homes near the town of Market Rasen, 5 miles from the epicenter, and one person was reportedly injured, according to the BGS. The agency said it was “inundated with calls from the public, media and emergency services throughout England.”

It was the largest quake in the U.K. since a 5.4 magnitude temblor hit the Lleyn Peninsula in Wales in 1984, the BGS said, adding such tremors usually occur in the country about every 30 years. It earlier reported the magnitude as 5.3. The U.S. Geological Survey measured the quake as magnitude 4.7 and said it was 6.2 miles deep.

“It felt like the roof was going to fall in,” the British Broadcasting Corp. cited Bev Finnegan, who lives in Market Rasen, as saying on its Web site. “There were people coming out in their dressing gowns and wondering what it was.”

An elderly man suffered leg injuries when a chimney collapsed in Wombwell, South Yorkshire, the BBC said.

The BGS said it records about 200 earthquakes in the U.K. every year and that about 25 are felt by people.

BGS seismologist Brian Baptie said in a statement today's temblor was a “significant earthquake for the U.K.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Kari Lundgren in London at klundgren2@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: February 27, 2008 00:17 EST

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