SCMC NewsOn Monday 30th May, 2022 a 3.8 magnitude tremor was recorded by the British Geological Survey (BGS) in Shropshire - and felt by many residents.
The tremor began shortly after 15:30 BST, with the epicentre just south of Market Drayton between the villages of Stanton upon Hine Heath, Weston-under-Redcastle and Hodnet (although many news reports said it was under Wem) at a depth of 8km (5 miles).
A number of geological faults cross the region, including the Clive Fault. Clive Copper mine is developed along this fault, hence the slickensides that are clearly visible as you walk through the mine (see picture below). It would be interesting to see if anything has changed underground at Clive in the near future.
The BGS say an earthquake of this magnitude only tends to happen once every three years in the UK. The last 3.8 magnitude earthquake was near Grimsby in north-east Lincolnshire, on 9th June 2018. Dudley was hit by a 4.7 magnitude in 2002. In 1996, a 3.4 magnitude quake was recorded less than 10km away from the latest earthquake. Six years earlier in 1990, a 5.1 magnitude earthquake hit Bishop’s Castle. At the time there was some concern that this might cause problems in Snailbeach, but it didn’t seem to.
View of the Slickensides in Clive Copper mine. (Kelvin Lake).
