Mining Earthquake in Yorkshire

Mining Earthquake in Yorkshire

Magnitude 1.9, near Hensall, North Yorkshire

A minor earthquake struck near the North Yorkshire village of Hensall on Thursday 11th September. The earthquake was reportedly felt in the nearby villages of Hensall, Kellington, Little Heck and Gowdall. There was no damage.

The magnitude 1.9 earthquake struck at 11:31pm, and had a focal depth of about 1 kilometre. Previous seismicity has been recorded in this locality, with nine earthquakes occurring within ten miles of today's earthquake in the last four years. These include a magnitude 2.0 quake in June 2010 and a magnitude 2.1 in February last year. The latter tremor gained an article in the Selby Times.

Earthquakes of this size are commonplace in regions that underwent mining activity in the past, and are often at shallow depths (max. 5km). Similar earthquakes have been occurring over the past year near New Ollerton, Nottinghamshire, and this earthquake was of the same nature. Old mine works, having been abandoned, lead to stress changes within the surrounding rock, which can cause minor earthquakes and on occasion subsidence of overlying land. 

Similar events occur abroad in Germany, Lower Silesia in Poland and northwestern Bosnia-Herzegovina, where a minor magnitude 3.5 earthquake killed five miners in a collapse this Monday. However, in Britain mining earthquakes generally do not exceed magnitude 2.0. With the abandonment of most mines where these earthquakes occur, there is very low risk for any of the public due to these quakes in the UK.

This article was written on the 12th September 2014 by J H Gurney.