Villagers left shaken by earthquake ‘like explosion’

A SCOTS village was rocked by an earthquake yesterday, with terrified locals claiming it sounded ‘like an explosion’.

Windows shook and light fittings rattled as Comrie in Perthshire was hit with a

2.2 magnitude quake. More than 30 reports were made by residents, who felt the tremors just before 3.30pm.

The British Geological Survey (BGS) logged the earthquake and confirmed the magnitude had a depth of ‘three kilometres’ – nearly two miles. According to the BGS, one villager reported hearing ‘a really loud bang’ while another said ‘it sounded like an explosion and the windows all shook’.

Seismologist Davie Galloway said: ‘It is a relatively small earthquake but significant to the people of Comrie who felt it.’

There are roughly 200 to 300 quakes in the UK every year, but the vast majority are so small that no one notices them. Only about 20 or 30 are more than 2.0 magnitude, meaning they can be felt over a wider area.

Comrie is regarded as the earthquake capital of the UK – subject to the most intense tremors than anywhere else – and is sometimes referred to as the ‘Shaky Toun’.

Mr Galloway explained that yesterday’s quake would have been more noticeable because of the Covid-19 lockdown.

He said: ‘There isn’t a lot of traffic during the day just now. If people are shopping on the high street and there is traffic and cultural noise, they might not have felt it. But there is not as much traffic because we’re in lockdown.

‘And it’s quite shallow, which means it’s nearer to the ground, and earthquake waves don’t have as far to travel – a shallow earthquake means that it’s felt more.’

The last earthquake in Comrie was in 2016 but it was not noticeable.

The largest known Scots earthquake occurred near Loch Awe, Argyll, in 1880, with a magnitude of 5.2.