22nd December 1843
An earthquake shakes the Channel Islands
At 3.53pm, the Channel Islands were shaken by a violent tremor lasting several seconds. It caused the bell in Guernsey’s Town Church to ring of its own accord, buildings to sway, and piers to rock on their legs.
As The Star reported, “unaccustomed as we are in this happy climate to all the fearful phenomena of nature, general surprise and alarm were created by this occurrence, the more especially as the shock was one of very considerable violence.” So violent was it, the staff of the paper ran outdoors for their own safety, fearing that the building might collapse on them.
A luminous cloud
The full report has eerie overtones. Despite being late December, it had still been warm enough for people to be swimming in the sea. Two days before the quake, a luminous cloud had appeared above the water and hovered for 10 or 15 minutes. The nights had been “impenetrably dark” and were only lit by the passing of a meteor. On the day of the quake itself, the clouds were “singularly tinted with pale green, red and purple”.
The earthquake was felt in Jersey, Guernsey, Sark, Herm, Devon and even on a few ships close to the Channel Islands. However, despite its apparent severity, the level of damage sustained was low, amounting to little more than a few dislodged and broken roof tiles and some collapsed chimneys.
Aftershocks
Some residents reported feeling an aftershock around an hour after the initial quake. The epicentre has since been calculated to have been close to Guernsey, with a magnitude of around 4.4. Earthquakes of this intensity are not particularly uncommon, with up to 15,000 occurring worldwide each year.
The 1843 incident was far from the only earthquake to shake the islands. Further tremors were recorded in 1853, 1887, 1889, 1933, 2014 and 2015. The 2014 and 2015 shakes were less severe than that felt in 1843, registering 4.2 and 2.9 on the Richter scale respectively.
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Other events that occured in December
SS Vega reaches starving Jersey
- When food started to run dangerously short late in the Occupation, the Red Cross ship SS Vega was sent with emergency rations.
- Read more…
Parishioners break into belfry demanding to hear bells
- When a vicar refused to have the bells rung at Christmas, his Jersey congregation broke into the belfry to make their demands.
- Read more…
Last ever episode of Bergerac is broadcast
- The BBC's long running Jersey-set detective drama series, Bergerac, finally drew to a close on Boxing Day 1991.
- Read more…
Operation Hardtack targets the Channel Islands
- Needing to find out what was happening in the .Channel Islands during the Occupation, the British government launched Operation Hardtack.
- Read more…