--- description: A 4.4 magnitude earthquake hit southern Wales Saturday morning, the first in the United Kingdom of that size in about ten years title: Earthquake Felt in Wales is Biggest in 10 Years image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [United Kindgom](/tag/united-kindgom/) ## United Kindgom Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # 'Thought It Was an Explosion.' 4.2-Magnitude Earthquake Rocks Wales by [Lisa Marie Segarra](/author/lisa-marie-segarra/) ## Lisa Marie Segarra Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 17, 2018 7:33 PM CUT by [Lisa Marie Segarra](/author/lisa-marie-segarra/) ## Lisa Marie Segarra Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 17, 2018 7:33 PM CUT A 4.2-magnitude [earthquake](https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/us2000d3uw#region-info "undefined") hit southern Wales Saturday morning, the first in the [United Kingdom](http://www.thedrive.com/sheetmetal/17680/black-is-back-as-the-most-popular-new-car-color-for-brits "undefined") of that size in about 10 years. The earthquake, with an epicenter north of Swansea, was felt through southwest [England](http://www.extracrispy.com/drinks/4696/england-considers-special-tax-on-disposable-coffee-cups "undefined") and the south of Wales, [according to the BBC.](http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-43097113 "undefined") However, no reports of serious damage or injury has been recorded. The earthquake was the largest one felt in the area since a 5.2-magnitude earthquake in 2008, [the BBC reported](http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-43098921 "undefined"). Despite the lack of known injuries or damage, authorities said they are still seeing a high call volume as a result of the earthquake. Police are asking people to only call if they are injured or if there are damages. > [](https://twitter.com/swpolice/status/964875860581941253) Many took to Twitter to share their experiences as well. > [](https://twitter.com/johnbarc86/status/964870758051864576) > [](https://twitter.com/SweetlyShan/status/964873740386492418) > [](https://twitter.com/sianyonthewave/status/964871086063091712) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5164436/earthquake-today-swansea/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5164436/earthquake-today-swansea/"},"headline":"'Thought It Was an Explosion.' 4.2-Magnitude Earthquake Rocks Wales","datePublished":"2018-02-17T19:33:46.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T19:20:17.955Z","description":"'Thought it was an explosion at first'","url":"https://time.com/5164436/earthquake-today-swansea/","keywords":["United Kindgom","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Lisa Marie Segarra","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/lisa-marie-segarra/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/united-kindgom/","name":"United Kindgom"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5164436/earthquake-today-swansea/","name":"'Thought It Was an Explosion.' 4.2-Magnitude Earthquake Rocks Wales"}}]}] ```