Earthquakes in Sussex: looking back – and could one happen again?

‘Rumbling’ and rattling windows were reported by residents living in and near the village of Tean, Staffordshire, after a 3.3-magnitude quake hit on Wednesday evening.

In February, a 3.7-magnitude earthquake occurred in the North Sea, off Norfolk, and the British Geological Society confirmed it was recorded at a depth of 10km.

Some parts of the world are more prone to earthquakes – an intense shaking of Earth’s surface caused by movements in the planet’s outermost layer – than others.

Earthquakes happen every day all over the world, along both tectonic plate edges and interiors. Sussex has experienced several – although on a much more minor scale.

The biggest-yet quake to rock Sussex happened during the night of February 27, 2019. It shook homes across a wide area from Epsom, in Surrey, to Horley, Charlwood, Crawley, Horsham and Southwater.

With a magnitude of 3.1 recorded by the British Geological Survey, it was the strongest ever to hit the region. Thousands of people reported houses shaking and furniture moving amid ‘a thunderous noise’.

One woman said she was lying in bed watching TV ‘when I felt my whole house move backwards and forwards’. Another said: “I thought something had crashed into the house.” The earthquake was the fourth to have hit the region in as many weeks.

Decades before, houses shook from Chichester to Purbrook, on June 11, 1938, and seismologists recorded ‘quite a big shock’ at about midday.

People throughout the south of England reported experiencing a strange swaying sensation, with chairs starting to move, walls shaking and items falling from shelves in shops and offices.

Most places in the UK where earthquakes take place are in the north west of England, the North Sea and the Scottish Highlands. Most have a magnitude of less than 2 and are classed as ‘microearthquakes’. While Sussex may well experience more earthquakes, they are unlikely to be anything serious – and may only be detected by specialist equipment.