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Double earthquake hits UK with 'loud bang' as tremors shake ground

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It is the thirteenth quake recorded in the last few months
It is the thirteenth quake recorded in the last few months

THE UK has been rocked by a DOUBLE earthquake as locals report hearing a "loud bang" as tremors shake the ground.

The Scottish Highlands has been hit twice in the space of nine hours with a magnitude of 1.4 being recorded.

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Scotland has been struck by two earthquakesCredit: Alamy

Morvern was first struck at 12.18pm on Wednesday - the thirteenth quake locals have felt in the last few months.

Shortly after at 8.43pm, Treshnish Islands off the Argyll coast recorded a quake of 1.1 magnitude.

It comes after a series of tremors hit the area in recent months - with one previously shaking homes over Christmas.

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The 2.0 magnitude tremor was recorded by the British Geological Survey (BGS) at 5.16am on Christmas Eve.

Residents at the time described a "loud bang that woke me up" before thinking it "was a military jet".

On December 15, a 1.5 magnitude quake was logged at Morvern.

There are around 200 to 300 earthquakes in Britain every year - with most of them going unnoticed.

But around 30 can be felt and have a magnitude of 2.0 and larger.

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

UK earthquakes, particularly in Scotland, are most often attributed to glacial rebound.

Until about 10,500 years ago much of the north of the UK was covered by a thick layer of ice - which pushed the rocks down into the underlying mantle.

These rocks have been slowly rising back up ever since the ice melted, causing occasional earthquakes in the process.

The UK is also subject to tectonic stresses caused by the expansion of the Atlantic Ocean.

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Morgan Johnson

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