A magnitude 5.0 earthquake would feel like standing between two trains, on a railway platform – the Mirror noted. That’s enough to lightly shake London, but might not be enough to bring down buildings. However, a magnitude 6.0 tremor could seriously damage building structures.
The discovery these two fault lines underneath London is a big news as geologists had previously believed the city was built on geologically stable surface. Now the city will need to draft new guidelines for buildings in London to survive an earthquake of up to 6.5 magnitude.
The strongest quake ever recorded in the region was a 6.1 magnitude earthquake in 1931. It was underneath Dogger Bank which is far from any inhabited land.
