The tool geocodes your postcode to lat/lng and centres the search on it. UK postcodes are validated against postcodes.io; outcode-only entries (e.g. SW1A) are accepted with reduced precision.

Default 100 km. Range 10–500 km. Smaller radius is best in earthquake-active areas (e.g. North Wales, East Midlands); larger radius is needed in low-activity regions to see meaningful event counts.

30, 90, 180 or 365 days. The default 90-day window balances recency with statistical robustness. For trend analysis use 365 days; for "what just happened" use 30.

Slider 0–5+. Default 1.5 to filter out the noise of micro-tremors that are not felt and not relevant to property safety. Set to 3.0+ if you only care about felt events.

The map shows event epicentres scaled by magnitude with your location pinned. The timeline scatter shows magnitude over time and whether the rate of activity is rising, falling or steady.

The Impact tab translates each event's ML magnitude and distance into expected building effect for typical UK construction — from "imperceptible" to "minor cosmetic damage possible."

The UK sits on the Eurasian plate but is far from any active plate boundary. UK earthquakes are intraplate — caused by the slow release of stress in ancient fault systems, glacial isostatic rebound (the land still rising after the last Ice Age), and locally by abandoned coal mines collapsing.

Areas with notable historical activity: South Wales, North Wales, the Welsh Borders, the East Midlands, central Scotland, and the Lake District. London and the South East are very quiet.

BGS reports UK earthquakes on the Local Magnitude (ML) scale, calibrated for British conditions. Approximate guide:

• ML < 2.0: Not felt; instrumental only.
• ML 2.0–2.9: Rarely felt; light sleepers may notice.
• ML 3.0–3.9: Felt indoors near epicentre; objects rattle.
• ML 4.0–4.9: Widely felt; some plaster cracks; loose objects fall.
• ML 5.0+: Damage to weaker structures; very rare in UK (last ML 5.0+ onshore was 2008 Market Rasen).

Several UK earthquakes per year are mining-induced — caused by pillar collapse, longwall mining stress redistribution, or fluid changes in abandoned coal mines. They tend to be very shallow (1–3 km), small (ML 1–3), and clustered in former coalfields (Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire, South Wales, Fife).

BGS distinguishes mining-induced events in its catalogue. They are usually too small to cause property damage but are felt locally and may trigger insurance enquiries.

Standard UK home insurance policies cover earthquake damage by default — earthquakes are not normally listed as an excluded peril. Claims are rare but valid; the most common are cracked plaster, fallen ornaments and chimney damage from ML 4+ events.

If you experience a tremor, photograph any damage immediately, note the date and BGS event ID (visible in this tool), and submit the claim with that reference. Insurers are well-versed in handling them.

Hydraulic fracturing was paused in the UK in 2019 after a magnitude 2.9 induced quake at Preston New Road, Lancashire. The traffic-light protocol required halting operations after any event ≥ ML 0.5. As of 2026 the moratorium remains in place.

The tool includes induced events from fracking and from geothermal projects (e.g. United Downs in Cornwall) so you can see the local pattern.