Perth quake was biggest for 15 years

Published on 21/01/2005 12:22

AN earthquake that hit Perthshire during the night was the biggest to hit the area for 15 years, it was revealed today.

The epicentre of the tremor, which measured 2.7 on the Richter scale, was around three miles north west of Killin.

Several householders called the police after hearing a loud bang at around 10pm last night.

Some described it as an explosion or sonic boom and others said they felt the ground shaking and their windows rattle.

Once an emergency had been ruled out, officers contacted the British Geological Survey in the Capital.

They checked their records and found that there had been a tremor.

Although mild in global terms, the quake is fairly significant for Scotland because it was the biggest in the Perthshire area for 15 years.

However it is not thought that any structural damage was caused by the tremor.

A spokesman for Central Scotland Police said: "Many houses across the region felt their houses shake and their windows rattle.

"We had a few calls from people who thought there had been an explosion or sonic boom.

"It‘s not a particularly populated area but those who felt the quake got a bit of a shock."

Paul Norris, 39, was in a local pub when the earthquake struck.

"It was all over very quickly," said Mr Norris, of News First newsagents in Killin. "Basically everyone felt it in the village and the surrounding area.

"I was in the pub with a few of my friends. We heard a bang, but it just sounded like someone was jumping up and down on the floor upstairs, although it was very loud.

"When I phoned my wife, she said the house had shaken and the windows rattled."

He added: "It was a really loud thump - we weren’t sure if someone had crashed into the bridge outside the pub, but the main thing was that it was over so quickly and was pretty undramatic.

"It wasn’t like you see in the films of big earthquakes with the ground shaking and everyone running around panicking."

Pete Gottgens, owner of the Ardeonaig Hotel in Killin, said he thought a tree had fallen down.

"We just didn’t know what it was, because we had very strong winds last night, so we thought perhaps a tree had fallen down or something," said Mr Gottgens, 41.

"It didn’t feel very strong in the ground - it was more of a rumble. I used to live in London, and the only thing I can think of that is similar is if a tube is going by underneath the ground - a sort of distant rumble."

He added: "We were a bit concerned when we first felt it because we didn’t know what had happened, but then someone came in and said it was an earthquake. It was strange - that was the first time I’ve ever experienced anything like that."

A spokesman from the British Geological Survey said seismologists spent most of last night monitoring the tremor.

"There is a lot of activity in the Perthshire area so last night’s tremor came as no real surprise," he said.

Dr Brian Baptie, senior seismologist at the BGS, said although it was a "pretty small" earthquake by global and UK standards, it would cause public concern.

"We experience about three earthquakes of magnitude and about five of about this size in the UK every year," he said.

"The crust below us is riddled with faults and the UK is still under some tectonic stress.

"These earthquakes are the result of present day stresses combining with ancient faults in crusts."

One of the biggest Scottish quakes, measuring 3.4 on the Richter scale, was in 1984 off the Isle of Jura. And just before Christmas, the BGS reported a small earthquake in Eskdalemuir.