There was a 4.7 earthquake centered 60 miles southwest of London this morning (approx 0200 CDST/0700 GMT). How are our British friends in the affected area making out???

The colonials want to know.

Our news reports state that some chimneys collapsed and walls were cracked. Hopefully that is all of the damage and inconvenience.

Looks like the main effected areas are coping well enough, the authorities seem to have everything under control although some of the effected residents seem to be camping out because of other possible future tremors.



Some have become quite distressed by the earthquake. The idea of having to be held in queue for an hour or so to call a call centre on a Saturday morning to handle their insurance claim to get the chimney fixed and to get the loose roof tiles fixed is causing some distress.



Although some appear to be excited at the thought of having some some firemen around for breakfast.



The causalty figures so far are 1 women with a minor head injury, although it is not know how the injury took place when the earth began to move.

The Police have quickly dealt with any possible criminal activity which could result in any break down in law and order. Potential troublemakers have been rounded up under the new ASBO laws.



Government geologists who are studing the earthquake can be seen here trying to master the Spider and Rabbit finger shadows but seemed to have failed to almost embarrasing extent.

Ha,Ha, Very Funny....
By the Grace of God (who is, as all men know, an Englishman), no one was (as of last report) killed or badly injured. The UK is much more tectonically active than most people appreciate.
There was a program shown on BBC2 a couple of years ago about the subject. Building in the UK should withstand (or so I understand) a Richter scale 6 shock. After that things are going to get "interesting".



"Interesting" is Brit-Speak for TEOTWAWKI and TSHTF. After all, we don't want to be outcooled in a crisis by a bunch of mere colonials do we?

Ah, the British. The only nation where most people who understand what "sporty" really means.

Have there been any aftershocks of note?

See! People tried to warn about that chunnel mucking with Island fortress Britain. My cousins in Ireland are available to refill the thing, provided Tony Blair provides the wheelbarrow and 2 spades. 4.7? We Californians roll over and go back to sleep for the small ones.

Despite Chris's quips, my first thought when I heard about it was... OMG! All those old buildings!

But I'm glad no one was seriously hurt.

Sue

I had the same thought Susan. I keep a close (almost daily) eye on the US EQ occurrences but I thought the UK was seismically quiet and thus not built (building codes) with EQ's in mind.

"The Police have quickly dealt with any possible criminal activity which could result in any break down in law and order. Potential troublemakers have been rounded up under the new ASBO laws."


This statement is scarey!!! Where are the potential troublemakers being stashed??? Are charges being brought against them for having the potential to create problems?????

That would mean, over here, that every registered member of virtually any Bulletin Board or Chat Room, is liable to be labeled: Potential Troublemaker.

Not to seem cynical, but that’s exactly what I did last night after this morning’s little shake. Granted, a magnitude 4.7 earthquake is 25 times more powerful (in amplitude) than a 3.3, but it was still an interesting coincidence.

Wildman, you've been pulled in by good old Brit humour, look at the person the police are helping.

maybe so, yes I saw the old lady and I hope you are right.

I don't know.... she looks pretty vicious... probably has a 12" blade under her nightie....

Sue

As it happens, an 85 year old woman has just been jailed for 18 months for breaching an ASBO.
Be it said that she is a nasty bit of work. Took a dislike to next door. Tried to make out that the daughter of the family is a Pr........ and a Wh..., amonst other things. Seemed to think that her age would protect her. Wrong.

I happened to catch a programme about this recently, perhaps a repeat of the one Leigh saw. Apparently there is a single tectonic plate under most of Europe, and it has cracks in it due to the Himalayas, and some of those cracks reach to the UK. It's movement along these cracks that produces the occasional small earthquake. If you go back a few hundred years you can find evidence of bigger ones. They are apparently less regular than earthquakes due to tectonic plates rubbing against each other.

We also get tornadoes. I didn't know this until a couple of years ago, when there was a newsworthy one in Birmingham, and there was another in London recently. Proper ones that took the roofs off houses.

I've been known to roll over for anything under a 6....