500 years 'since UK's largest earthquake'

Recent studies have suggested the earthquake was magnitude 7.0

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Friday, 19, Sep 2008 09:26

Today marks the 500-year anniversary of what scientists believe was the largest earthquake to ever hit Britain in historical times.

Few contemporary records of the September 19th 1508 quake exist, but recent studies have suggested it could have been as strong as magnitude 7.0.

That would put it on par with the devastating Kobe earthquake of 1995, but UK seismologists say considerably less damage would have been wrought, with the epicentre west of the Outer Hebrides.

But the British Geological Survey (BGS) said the quake would have still produced a tsunami similar to that seen following the Newfoundland 1929 earthquake.

"There are geological similarities between the offshore areas of Newfoundland and the Hebrides," said Dr Roger Musson of the BGS.

"Both are low seismicity areas, but research has shown that unexpectedly large earthquakes can occur in seismically quiet areas, especially at the oceanic edges of continents."

Dr Musson reassured Britons that such a strong quake was unlikely to happen again anytime soon.

"Earthquakes like this in low seismicity areas are very rare events, something that might happen once in several thousand years," he continued.

"Even if it did happen again, most likely the damage would be limited because of the offshore epicentre, but it would be an alarming experience throughout the country - just as it was in 1508."

The lack of historical records of the quake is a source of frustration for seismologists, with several mentions in churches across the country but none in Norway or Ireland.

"Churches, being taller, might be more susceptible to shaking from a large distant earthquake than ordinary houses, there are other possible explanations as well; an earthquake in the northern North Sea, for instance," Dr Musson concluded.