A small earthquake was confirmed in Eryri (Snowdonia) on Tuesday, after locals reported hearing a "loud bang" and a "rumbling" sound. It had a magnitude of 1.8 on the Richter scale, which measures the strength of earthquakes, and happened at 8.37am on Tuesday (October 11).
The epicentre was located around 4km west of Llanrwst in Gwydir Forest, according to the British Geological Survey (BGS), at a depth of 7km. It was also felt in Llanberis, Cwm-y-glo, Bethesda, Llanllechid and Tregarth in Gwynedd.
Residents reported a "weak shaking" and a "loud rumbling noise and loud bang like something falling" to the BGS with another likening it to "a distant military jet". Another said on social media it sounded like a "JCB" driving past their home, North Wales Live reports.
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The last earthquake in north Wales occurred last month in Porthmadog where a tremor of 1.5 magnitude was recorded at 8:30am on September 18. A 1.4 magnitude earthquake was also recorded in the Powys village of Ystradfellte on October 2.
A quake at 1.8 on the Richter scale is considered to be a "micro earthquake" which are relatively commonplace in the UK. The largest north Wales earthquake occurred on July 19, 1984 in Llithfaen on the Llyn Peninsula and was felt over an area of around 250,000 square kilometres.
Measuring 5.4 on the Richter scale it last for 12 seconds and the BGS later declared it the largest onshore earthquake in the UK in the 20th century.
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