No place immune from big earthquakes!

The UK's largest earthquake for 24 years was centred around the town of Market Rasen in Lincolnshire and happened at just before 1am this morning. The British Geological Survey (BGS) confirmed a magnitude of 5.2 local magnitude (ML) on the Richter scale.

A geophysicist from the United States Geological Survey (USGS) said that while the event was "light to moderate" on a world scale, it was significant for a country not normally considered to be a seismic hot spot.

Rafael Abreu, said: "What is interesting about this event is that it was in an area where you would not expect it. In an aseismic area like this it is very significant.

"The UK usually has minor activity - it's not particularly seismic and usually falls in the range of two to three (on the Richter scale). Usually something in the range of four to five is what you would expect closer to a tectonic boundary - Indonesia or California for example."

However, Mr Abreu added that no area was immune from strong earthquake activity. "Recently we had a 6.3 event in Nevada which was the first one there," he said.

"These are events which are rare, but one of those things that can happen. The truth is that it can happen anywhere in the world, any place in the world."

Minor damage

Just one person was seriously injured as a result of last night's earthquake, according to reports today. Student David Bates was watching television in the attic of his home in Barnsley Road, Wombwell, South Yorkshire, when he was struck by a piece of masonry. It was reported that he fractured his pelvis.

Other than that there were widespread reports of minor damage. Norwich Union confirmed that policyholders had already began to get in touch concerning damage to their properties.

Jason Harris, senior claims manager at Norwich Union, said: "We have seen a number of claims coming in to our call centres overnight, but we expect further calls today as damage will be more obvious in daylight.

"At the moment these are reports of mainly minor damage such as tiles off roofs, breakages inside the home and brick walls collapsing."

The good news for property owners is that they should be covered by their insurance. Earthquakes, are normally covered as standard in both contents and buildings insurance. In addition, repair costs to vehicles hit by falling masonry would normally be covered if the driver has fully comprehensive car insurance.

Earthquake history

The BGS said it records around 200 earthquakes in the UK each year. It added that earthquakes of the size recorded last night occur in the mainland UK around every 30 years, but are more common in offshore areas.

Last night's was the largest since 1984 when an earthquake measuring 5.4 on the Richter scale shook the Lleyn Peninsula of north Wales and was widely felt across England and Wales. Last April, residents in Kent were hit by a tremor registering 4.2 ML.

The largest earthquake ever recorded in the UK happened about 75 miles north-east of Great Yarmouth in the North Sea on 7 June 1931, measuring 6.1 ML.