Black Country rocked by 2.8 magnitude earthquake as residents report 'shaking'
An earthquake has struck parts of the Black Country, measuring a magnitude of 2.8 lasting around 60 seconds.
Reports of a "thud" and "rumbling" noises came in from residents in Walsall, West Bromwich and Tipton as well as in the Birmingham shortly before 11pm on Monday.
And it was even felt across Wolverhampton with residents in Bilston reporting their house was shook by the seismic activity.
The British Geological Survey (BGS) reported Andrew Road in West Bromwich, near the M5 and the Walsall border, as the epicentre of the quake, which had a depth of 7km.
The service said the effects of the quake were felt in a 20km radius from its epicentre, with tremors being detected by residents in Birmingham, Wolverhampton and Dudley.
Several residents took to social media to describe what happened.
Robin Smith, of Manor Road, Walsall, posted: "Scared me half to death, thought car had hit the house."
One resident, who lives in the Sandwell borough, told the BGS it was like a "loud grumble like a passing lorry" which caused their windows to vibrate, but it was over "very quick".
Whilst another in Lichfield said it was like a "very short jolt, almost sonic-boom like" as residents took to social media to report feeling the earthquake.
One resident reported his sofa "shaking" whilst another said: "I felt it everything shook in my room (and) thought someone was trying to break down my front door."
One person added: "I thought I felt unwell – I was walking up the stairs and my legs went like jelly."
Others told the BGS the quake shook their homes, while one person said it "was like a wardrobe had fallen over or an explosion blast against the window".
In the early hours of September 23, 2002, a tremor with a force of 5.0 on the Richter scale rocked the region and the epicentre was at the junction of High Arcal Road and Himley Road in Himley near Dudley.
