Shropshire residents were shocked by a 3.8 magnitude earthquake yesterday (May 30). But, they occur much more frequently in Britain than you'd expect.

The quake was the third to hit the UK in the last 24 hours, taking place at around 3.36pm and at a depth of 4.9 miles. According to the British Geological Survey (BGS), 3.8 magnitude earthquakes only happen in the UK around every two years.

However, unbeknownst to many of us, the tremors are not unusual in the UK: it's just that a lot of the time, we miss them. But over the years, the South East has been subject to some of the biggest in the country.

In 2007 an earthquake in Kent registered as 4.3, with Folkestone the worst hit area. More recently, in 2015, a tremor measuring 4.2 hit Sandwich in Kent, with shockwaves felt as far away as Norwich 1oo miles away.

June 2018 saw an earthquake of 3.9 hit most of Eastern England and just a month later, a 3.3 quake was felt in Surrey. So far this year, quakes have been felt in Aberdeen, Lincolnshire and Birmingham which was a strong 3.2 magnitude.

Following yesterday's earthquake, parts of Nottinghamshire and Staffordshire felt the earth shake with affected areas including Long Eaton, Shrewsbury, Telford, Stafford and Stoke-on-Trent. One homeowner, who lives in Shrewsbury, told The Mirror: "I felt the house shake from side to side for about three or four seconds. I was sat on the sofa and the whole room was moving. I asked my partner if that was an earthquake and he said it was that or an explosion."

In a statement, the British Geological Survey said: "BGS has received numerous reports that this event has been felt by residents in Shropshire and surrounding counties.

"An earthquake of this size can result in strong shaking within about 10km of the epicentre but damage is unlikely. The earthquake may have been felt at distances as far as 100km (62 miles) away."

When Birmingham recorded a 3.2 magnitude earthquake in February, it was one of 25 already detected in 2022. The magnitudes range between 0.3 and 3.6 and the strongest one was recorded in the North Sea 150 miles east of Aberdeen. Now, Shropshire's quake has overtaken it.

The first earthquake this year was detected in Lincolnshire on January 3, The Sun reports. The quake was not registered by residents and had a magnitude of just 1.1.

Anything below 2.5 often goes unnoticed by the general public. But a magnitude reaching beyond 3 can definitely be felt. Magnitude 5 earthquakes in which buildings happen roughly between 10-20 years.