Scottish island shaken by early evening earthquake

Islanders are telling us they could feel their whole house move.

Author: Kieran LuddyPublished 30th Jan 2024

An earthquake that rocked the Isle of Mull felt like a car hitting the side of a house, Clyde 1 news has been told.

The 3.3 magnitude quake hit at 7.30pm on Monday according to The British Geological Survey (BGS).

Alasdair Satchell, who lives on Mull, said: ā€œI heard this massive thump and I didn’t know what was going on at all.

ā€œI thought maybe my wife, who was going to drop off my father-in-law, had driven into the side of the house.

ā€œWe’ve got this wooden house and you could really feel the whole thing shake and shoogle.ā€

The quake reverberated for 50 kilometres from its epicentre near the village of Dervaig and could be felt on neighbouring islands.

Alasdair said: ā€œMy friend, Jack, out in Tiree felt it – he thought it was the wind out there.

ā€œIt was just so sudden"

"It was unlike anything else – we were all so struck by it.ā€

It’s not the first time the Inner Hebrides have felt the natural phenomena. In the last ten years, there has been eight earthquakes above a 3.0 magnitude.

The largest known earthquake in Scotland occurred near Loch Awe in 1880, with a magnitude of 5.2.