Believed to be 4.3 on the richter scale an earthquake hit Kent this weekend causing damage to houses and infrastructure. The epicentre of the quake was just a few kms from the the towns of Dover and Folkstone. Although earthquakes are not a frequent occurance in the UK they are reasonably active. Although most earthquakes occur at the boundaries of major crustal plates, they can occur, less frequently, within plates. The UK is on the British Eurasian plate.Senior seismologist Dr David Booth, of the BGS, said there were lots of faults running through the British Isles. In this case, north-west pressure on the UK caused a build-up of energy in these fault systems, he said, and this energy was released - causing the earthquake.
