Manchester Earthquake

There are reports today that there was a small earthquake in Manchester this morning, measuring 2.2 on the Richter scale (2.2 ML).

This is not uncommon. The British Geological Survey—which operates a network of seismograph monitoring stations around the UK—says that it locates between 300 and 400 earthquakes per year above 1.5 ML. In a typical year, 40 events will have magnitudes greater than 2.0 ML and about 20 are felt by local residents.

This map, from the BGS, shows seismic activity in the Manchester area since 1777:

The BGS web site includes an interactive map that you can use to explore historical earthquake data.