Residents near Falcarragh were rattled by a loud bang and tremor this morning.
The 0.5 magnitude seismic event has been attributed to a nearby quarry blast, which are common in the area.
It was recorded in the Fanmore region at 11:30am.
James Grannell from the Irish National Seismic Network (INSN) told Donegal Daily: “Usually people do not feel or experience events with magnitudes less than M1.0, but as quarry blasts occur at the earth’s surface instead of underground like earthquakes, we do get occasional reports from members of the public that experience vibrations due quarry blasts. Such reports are usually located within 2km from a blasting quarry.
“Several citizen-seismometers of the Quake-Shake program (our outreach program for getting members of the public involved in seismic monitoring) also picked up the blast, these seismometers were located near Dunfanaghy, Creeslough and Letterkenny.”
It comes more than a week after a mini earthquake was recorded near Glen Lough. The 0.3 negative magnitude quake was picked up by the Irish National Seismic Network in the early hours of Monday 27th January at 2.53am.
The INSN has a dedicated form for members of the public to fill out if they do experience something that could be seismic-related: https://www.insn.ie/you-felt-a-seismic-event/questionnaire/
“This form has been used extensively by members of the public in Donegal when an M2.5 occurred in Glenveagh National Park on 6th of May 2023,” said Grannell.
“Testimonies of what people feel during earthquakes in Ireland allows us to understand how the felt-intensity of seismic events varies with magnitude and distance within Ireland.”
