Map showing locations from where people reported that the felt the affects of this morning's earthquake, which struck 60km off the Co Mayo coastline. Image courtesy of the BGS
An earthquake with a magnitude of 4 struck 60km west of Belmullet off the Co Mayo coastline this morning at 8.58am, the British Geological Survey has confirmed.
David Galloway, a seismologist with the British Geological Survey, who is based in Edinburgh, said that the earthquake had a magnitude of 4 but that there have been no reports of damage.
He said while the earthquake struck 60km off the Co Mayo coastline, people in the counties of Mayo, Sligo and Galway did, however, experience tremors as a result of the unusual seismic event for Ireland.
“We’ve had no reports of damage, apart from some rattling of windows. People have said the sensation felt like a lorry going into the side of a house or a steamroller going down the road,” said Galloway.
He said that an earthquake with a magnitude of 4 is quite unusual for Ireland or the UK.
“In worldwide terms it is small, but in Ireland and the UK, an earthquake with a magnitude of 4 is quite rare. Such an occurrence of this size generally only happens around every two years in either the UK or Ireland.
He said the earthquake was a first for the Co Mayo coastline.
