Magnitude 3.8 earthquake rattles South Wales at midnight

An earthquake measuring 3.8 on the Richter scale was reported near Merthyr Tydfil in South Wales late on Friday night.

The quake occurred at 11:59 pm on February 24th, with a depth of just 2 km, making it more strongly felt than deeper earthquakes.

#Earthquake (#daeargryn) M3.8 strikes 37 km NW of #Cardiff (United Kingdom) 27 min ago. More info: https://t.co/Xou0iamctC

— AllQuakes – EMSC (@EMSC) February 25, 2023

According to a number of witness testimonials on the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) website, houses and contents shook as a result of the tremor.

One person wrote: “Just heard the house shift, the movement felt as if someone had fallen out of bed, nothing more.”

Another wrote: “House felt like it moved in one direction”

An Aberdare resident posted: “Felt the whole house shake. Thought my wife had fallen out of bed. Took me a few minutes to realise what had happened.”

A Tredegar resident wrote: “Our [w]hole house shook for about 5 seconds children woken and scared.”

There were reports from people as far away as Rhyl, Northwich and Omskirk.

The Twitter account for Gwrych Castle in Abergele asked the question: “Did we just have a mini earthquake here in North Wales?”

Did we just have a mini earthquake here in North Wales?

— Gwrych Castle (@Gwrych_Castle) February 25, 2023

Real-time data from the British Geological Survey’s seismic monitoring station in Monmouth shows a large ground motion reading at 12am.

The EMSC noted that the magnitude and other parameters could still change in the coming hours as the agency continues to process seismic data.

It said: “Based on preliminary seismic data, the quake was likely felt by many people in the area of the epicenter, which is located just 5 km from Merthyr Tydfil and 6 km from Aberdare.”

Both towns should have experienced light shaking, while residents in Ronda, Ebbw Vale, Tonypandy, and Pontypridd may have felt weak shaking.