Cornwall earthquake felt 'like a juggernaut had hit the house'

Cornwall earthquake felt ‘like a juggernaut had hit the house’

An earthquake struck Cornwall overnight, with one local describing the impact as feeling “like a juggernaut had hit the house”.

The British Geological Survey (BGS) said a 2.7-magnitude tremor struck at a depth of 13km and shook the Mount’s Bay area at 12.50am on Sunday.

It said it had received reports from residents in Helston, Penzance and Camborne, as well as several other towns and villages nearby.

The reports were mainly from within around 30km of the epicentre of the quake, the BGS said.

“Reports described, ‘a low deep rumble’, ‘a moderate rumbling sound’, ‘whole house vibrated’ and ‘a bang and judder, like a juggernaut had hit the house’,” it added.

The BGS appealed for anyone who felt the quake to fill out an Earthquake Report to help seismologists understand more about the event.

Dr David Hawthorn, a seismologist with the BGS, told BBC Cornwall: “This was quite small by global standards.

“In the UK we have a phenomenally complicated geology and that’s particularly true in Cornwall and sooner or later that stress weakens and we get an earthquake.”

He added: “We are still getting data in, so please give us a description because we want to know how much it shakes the ground in any given location.”

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Dr Hawthorn said the UK experiences around 200 to 300 earthquakes a year, though only around 30 are felt.

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