Earthquake measuring 3.5 hits off east coast of Scotland

Aberdeen - An earthquake measuring 3.5 on the Richter magnitude scale has hit off the east coast of Scotland at 5:45 a.m. this morning. It comes after a series of earthquakes has hit the British Isles in the last few days and is by far the most severe.

Occurring 155 miles from the east coast of Aberdeen, the 3.5 magnitude event wasn't apparently felt by anyone on land or indeed by anyone out at sea. It occurred in an area called Central Graben which is 55 miles from an area that saw a 4.1 quake in 2001 which was felt by workers on a nearby oil and gas platform. Measuring 3.5 on the Richter scale it most certainly would have been significant had it occurred inland. The United Kingdom is no stranger to seismic activity but most quakes that hit are felt on the land usually measure less than 2.0 on the scale. The British Geological Survey show that in recent days the Highland of Scotland have been hit by two earthquakes measuring 1.8 and 1.1 on the scale. South of the border, North Yorkshire saw two earthquakes on August 28 and 31 both measuring 1.6 on the scale.