Article from BBC News about Quake in the UK
February 27, 2008 4:15 AM Subscribe
Earthquake?
So it's 1am and Your room starts to shake. That's fine. But in Liverpool?
So it's 1am and Your room starts to shake. That's fine. But in Liverpool?
But in Liverpool?
It's global warming I tells ya
posted by mattoxic at 4:17 AM on February 27, 2008 [1 favorite]
It's global warming I tells ya
posted by mattoxic at 4:17 AM on February 27, 2008 [1 favorite]
We do get more quakes than you'd think in the UK, but most of them are teeny.
I loved that the lead story on the local BBC news was about a woman who had difficulty coaxing her cat out of a cupboard after the quake. Important stuff.
posted by Mr Bismarck at 4:30 AM on February 27, 2008
I loved that the lead story on the local BBC news was about a woman who had difficulty coaxing her cat out of a cupboard after the quake. Important stuff.
posted by Mr Bismarck at 4:30 AM on February 27, 2008
That's it. I'm moving back to California. Didn't get this kind of thing happening there.
posted by MrMustard at 4:36 AM on February 27, 2008
posted by MrMustard at 4:36 AM on February 27, 2008
It wasn't an earthquake. It was just the sound of the dollar dropping in value again.
posted by Dave Faris at 4:40 AM on February 27, 2008 [1 favorite]
posted by Dave Faris at 4:40 AM on February 27, 2008 [1 favorite]
I'm sorry, Shaun.
posted by bwg at 4:43 AM on February 27, 2008 [2 favorites]
posted by bwg at 4:43 AM on February 27, 2008 [2 favorites]
"Macro-seismic" earthquakes in the UK from the last 34 years. (slow loading)
posted by DU at 4:51 AM on February 27, 2008
posted by DU at 4:51 AM on February 27, 2008
I live in Manchester UK and my girlfriend slept right through it. Right up to the moment that I woke up suddenly shouting "what the fuck was that!?".
My first ever earthquake (that i've felt) for the record. Do I get a badge?
posted by daveyt at 4:53 AM on February 27, 2008
My first ever earthquake (that i've felt) for the record. Do I get a badge?
posted by daveyt at 4:53 AM on February 27, 2008
Woke me up and all. Although it didn't really register until I saw the news and realized it wasn't a weird dream. Talking to people at work quite a lot woke up as well, without actually figuring out the cause.
But anyway, my first earthquake, yay.
posted by phax at 4:54 AM on February 27, 2008
But anyway, my first earthquake, yay.
posted by phax at 4:54 AM on February 27, 2008
Didn't feel a thing. Come on ye roving aftershocks.
posted by bonaldi at 5:03 AM on February 27, 2008
posted by bonaldi at 5:03 AM on February 27, 2008
It rocked me in South London and I felt it; it shook the windows and the couch I was sitting on, watching Movern Callar on TV (I don't start work til 9.30).
Having survived the Montreal earthquake of 95 I knew right away what it was, and I made a note of the time, as this sort of information is usually very important to scientists. The clock on the VCR read "12.58"
posted by Flashman at 5:24 AM on February 27, 2008
Having survived the Montreal earthquake of 95 I knew right away what it was, and I made a note of the time, as this sort of information is usually very important to scientists. The clock on the VCR read "12.58"
posted by Flashman at 5:24 AM on February 27, 2008
I woke my wife up and said "Earthquake. " I think she might have said "Wow". We listened to the wardrobe doors rattle and a little groan from the house and then went right back to sleep.
You'd think I never watched Rescue 911 as a kid. Our place could have fallen off its stilts and slid down the cliff into the ocean. Except we have no stilts or cliff and are as far from the ocean as you can get in England.
posted by srboisvert at 5:34 AM on February 27, 2008
You'd think I never watched Rescue 911 as a kid. Our place could have fallen off its stilts and slid down the cliff into the ocean. Except we have no stilts or cliff and are as far from the ocean as you can get in England.
posted by srboisvert at 5:34 AM on February 27, 2008
I half-woke and said "Oh, it's an earthquake!"
The husband says "No, it can't be. It must be the washing machine."
"No, it's an earthquake," I state crossly, before rolling over and going back to sleep.
Five minutes later, he wakes me up again. "You're right. It was an earthquake."
Our damage? One knocked-over Lego minifig.
The fact that now every time something shakes in the house, I'm going to say "Must be the washing machine."? Priceless.
posted by Katemonkey at 6:00 AM on February 27, 2008 [2 favorites]
The husband says "No, it can't be. It must be the washing machine."
"No, it's an earthquake," I state crossly, before rolling over and going back to sleep.
Five minutes later, he wakes me up again. "You're right. It was an earthquake."
Our damage? One knocked-over Lego minifig.
The fact that now every time something shakes in the house, I'm going to say "Must be the washing machine."? Priceless.
posted by Katemonkey at 6:00 AM on February 27, 2008 [2 favorites]
Felt it here in SW London. First time I've ever experienced an earthquake that I know of. What surprised me was that it was completely silent here, just a slow swaying without any rumbling noise at all. So much so that if someone else in my house hadn't felt it, I would have thought I had imagined it.
Though, I've only seen earthquakes in movies, so maybe that's common?
posted by lucidium at 6:13 AM on February 27, 2008
Though, I've only seen earthquakes in movies, so maybe that's common?
posted by lucidium at 6:13 AM on February 27, 2008
About twenty years ago when I was 15 living in Liverpool there was an earthquake, and the lad that lived in the flat below us came running up thinking we were being attacked by aliens!
posted by zeoslap at 6:44 AM on February 27, 2008
posted by zeoslap at 6:44 AM on February 27, 2008
I... I was awake in East London and I didn't feel it.
posted by Drexen at 6:48 AM on February 27, 2008
posted by Drexen at 6:48 AM on February 27, 2008
My mother lives almost exactly at the epicentre of the earthquake. I called her this morning to make sure she was OK. She said she woke up at 1am to hear a noise like an avalanche and the entire house shaking. She screamed, and yelled at my stepfather "What was that?"
His reply: "What was what?"
(My sister, who lives nearby, said she though her house was going to explode).
Apparently the only report of damage was that a chimney pot fell off in Gainsborough. Apparently all the local news crews and journalists went to look at it.
posted by unSane at 6:53 AM on February 27, 2008
His reply: "What was what?"
(My sister, who lives nearby, said she though her house was going to explode).
Apparently the only report of damage was that a chimney pot fell off in Gainsborough. Apparently all the local news crews and journalists went to look at it.
posted by unSane at 6:53 AM on February 27, 2008
Ha! mattoxic. Global Warming causes earthquakes??
You thought you were being clever but actually, you were being ... um ... clever.
posted by seanyboy at 6:54 AM on February 27, 2008
You thought you were being clever but actually, you were being ... um ... clever.
posted by seanyboy at 6:54 AM on February 27, 2008
We need more posts of the form
Noun?
on the front page. It's enticing. Maybe 'tis, maybe 'tisn't. Maybe it's t'other entirely. Will you click to find out? Roll 1d10 to find out the path you follow!
posted by Wolfdog at 7:19 AM on February 27, 2008
Noun?
on the front page. It's enticing. Maybe 'tis, maybe 'tisn't. Maybe it's t'other entirely. Will you click to find out? Roll 1d10 to find out the path you follow!
posted by Wolfdog at 7:19 AM on February 27, 2008
I would not, incidentally, consider it fine if I woke up and my room was shaking in Liverpool.
posted by Wolfdog at 7:20 AM on February 27, 2008
posted by Wolfdog at 7:20 AM on February 27, 2008
That's a relief. I thought it was the central heating playing up again.
posted by alasdair at 7:23 AM on February 27, 2008
posted by alasdair at 7:23 AM on February 27, 2008
I woke up at 1am initially thinking someone was shaking my bed. When I realised that wasn't the case I assume it was an acid and/or pill flashback and went back to sleep.
posted by influx at 7:43 AM on February 27, 2008
posted by influx at 7:43 AM on February 27, 2008
Just like Rock n Roll, Hippies and Crack, this is just more proof that whatever happens in American gets to Britain sooner or later.
posted by ob at 7:47 AM on February 27, 2008
posted by ob at 7:47 AM on February 27, 2008
Y'all should go to the US Geological Survey site and report where and when you felt the shaking. the British GS may have something like this, but I can't find it one their site. It's a cool map of where everyone who felt it was when the quake happened.
I live in CA and fill one of these out every time I feel a quake - it's good data for them to have.
posted by rtha at 8:32 AM on February 27, 2008
I live in CA and fill one of these out every time I feel a quake - it's good data for them to have.
posted by rtha at 8:32 AM on February 27, 2008
I'm not absolutely sure why I just read every one of these comments.
Like being strangely hypnotized!
posted by Jody Tresidder at 8:46 AM on February 27, 2008
Here's the British Geological Society questionnaire.
posted by penguinliz at 8:49 AM on February 27, 2008
posted by penguinliz at 8:49 AM on February 27, 2008
I half-woke and said "Oh, it's an earthquake!"
The husband says "No, it can't be. It must be the washing machine."
How delightfully British.
Put those together for you.
posted by WolfDaddy at 9:29 AM on February 27, 2008
The husband says "No, it can't be. It must be the washing machine."
How delightfully British.
Put those together for you.
posted by WolfDaddy at 9:29 AM on February 27, 2008
Blimey
posted by spock at 10:36 AM on February 27, 2008 [1 favorite]
posted by spock at 10:36 AM on February 27, 2008 [1 favorite]
I sleepily assumed that it was the missus farting. Improvised sausage vindaloo does that to you sometimes.
posted by NeonSurge at 12:09 PM on February 27, 2008 [1 favorite]
posted by NeonSurge at 12:09 PM on February 27, 2008 [1 favorite]
I was on Metafilter when it happened.
I was listening to chiptunes on my wireless headphones when suddenly I thought I could feel a tingling in the soles of my feet. Now, listening to loud music on headphones effectively cuts off my hearing, which seems to enhance my sensitivity to movement, and since I live in an old house with rickety floors sometimes I can feel someone walking past on the landing outside, or even someone digging out in the garden.
But it didn't stop. The pens in my pen pot started to rattle. I mean, it was like Jurassic Park or some shit. About 30 seconds in, I thought, Christ, this is actually happening. Every wall on my room has tight-packed bookshelves from floor to ceiling, and all the books started a soft, susurrating shimmy-shake in unison. From Jurassic Park to Ghostbusters - frickin sweet. Then it stopped.
My heart was racing, and I had a full-on adrenalin spike. I looked out the window - no lights were on, no car alarms were going off. That, to be honest, was when I started to panic. In earthquake terms, it was a tiny little baby-sneeze of a thing. But my house is old, and with no evidence that the tremors had affected anything but my immediate location, I became gripped by the idea that the flooding in the cellar had finally eaten through the foundations, and I was about to be buried alive. Spent the rest of the night checking cracks that had been there for years, convinced they'd just appeared.
Makes me realise how traumatic it must be to be in an actual, real, y'know, destructive earthquake - not just at the time, but afterwards. I never realised how absolute my faith was in the permanence and structural solidity of things like my house. I don't want to be all glib about it - I mean, it was scarcely strong enough to slosh my tea into the saucer - but it was like a little reminder of how fragile our existence on this planet is, how many conditions come together to allow us to continue to survive. Made me a bit less stressed about doing my taxes, anyhow.
posted by RokkitNite at 1:04 PM on February 27, 2008 [1 favorite]
I was listening to chiptunes on my wireless headphones when suddenly I thought I could feel a tingling in the soles of my feet. Now, listening to loud music on headphones effectively cuts off my hearing, which seems to enhance my sensitivity to movement, and since I live in an old house with rickety floors sometimes I can feel someone walking past on the landing outside, or even someone digging out in the garden.
But it didn't stop. The pens in my pen pot started to rattle. I mean, it was like Jurassic Park or some shit. About 30 seconds in, I thought, Christ, this is actually happening. Every wall on my room has tight-packed bookshelves from floor to ceiling, and all the books started a soft, susurrating shimmy-shake in unison. From Jurassic Park to Ghostbusters - frickin sweet. Then it stopped.
My heart was racing, and I had a full-on adrenalin spike. I looked out the window - no lights were on, no car alarms were going off. That, to be honest, was when I started to panic. In earthquake terms, it was a tiny little baby-sneeze of a thing. But my house is old, and with no evidence that the tremors had affected anything but my immediate location, I became gripped by the idea that the flooding in the cellar had finally eaten through the foundations, and I was about to be buried alive. Spent the rest of the night checking cracks that had been there for years, convinced they'd just appeared.
Makes me realise how traumatic it must be to be in an actual, real, y'know, destructive earthquake - not just at the time, but afterwards. I never realised how absolute my faith was in the permanence and structural solidity of things like my house. I don't want to be all glib about it - I mean, it was scarcely strong enough to slosh my tea into the saucer - but it was like a little reminder of how fragile our existence on this planet is, how many conditions come together to allow us to continue to survive. Made me a bit less stressed about doing my taxes, anyhow.
posted by RokkitNite at 1:04 PM on February 27, 2008 [1 favorite]
Felt it in Norwich. Or I had a remarkably coincidental dream.
posted by verisimilitude at 2:37 PM on February 27, 2008
posted by verisimilitude at 2:37 PM on February 27, 2008
Maybe now they will reconsider the pedestrianisation of Norwich town centre!
/Partridge
posted by asok at 3:03 PM on February 27, 2008 [1 favorite]
/Partridge
posted by asok at 3:03 PM on February 27, 2008 [1 favorite]
Hey, I'm in Norwich too! Go Norwich earthquake survivors!
posted by RokkitNite at 3:41 PM on February 27, 2008
posted by RokkitNite at 3:41 PM on February 27, 2008
Improvised sausage vindaloo does that to you sometimes
How delightfully Brit...oh, never mind.
posted by Infinite Jest at 4:04 PM on February 27, 2008
How delightfully Brit...oh, never mind.
posted by Infinite Jest at 4:04 PM on February 27, 2008
Went through one of those in Geneva, Switzerland. Made me feel all wobbly.
Good times.
posted by blue_beetle at 5:58 PM on February 27, 2008
Good times.
posted by blue_beetle at 5:58 PM on February 27, 2008
Wolfdog - I think the title "Earthquake?" Was nice and precise. And the question left you begging for more. Like a particularly malicious first date, perhaps.
Or Not.
I think it's typically British that we are all calling ourselves 'survivors'.
posted by bobbyone at 2:50 AM on February 28, 2008
Or Not.
I think it's typically British that we are all calling ourselves 'survivors'.
posted by bobbyone at 2:50 AM on February 28, 2008
It's global warming I tells ya
In a sense, absolutely. UK quakes are generally caused by movement going on as a result of the land mass rebounding since the ice sheets retreated (so a geologist said on t'radio).
posted by itsjustanalias at 3:19 AM on February 28, 2008
In a sense, absolutely. UK quakes are generally caused by movement going on as a result of the land mass rebounding since the ice sheets retreated (so a geologist said on t'radio).
posted by itsjustanalias at 3:19 AM on February 28, 2008
I was only about 30-40 miles from the epicentre and sat at my pc at the time. It was exactly like some one had grabbed my chair and was shaking it backwards and forwards about half a foot. I had headphones on at the time so didn't much (apart from a bang, which I never worked out what it was) and saw all my bookshelves rattling.
Not as violent as the one I felt in Japan but more than the other two I've felt in the UK
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 4:36 AM on March 1, 2008
Not as violent as the one I felt in Japan but more than the other two I've felt in the UK
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 4:36 AM on March 1, 2008
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