Silksworth 'earthquake': The underground fault that shook a community
Gurgling ovens and quivering houses. No it wasn’t a horror movie. It was a real life scene in Sunderland.
It happened in Silksworth in 1977 when a dozen families had to be evacuated from their homes after a ‘mini earthquake’ rocked buildings.
Rumblings from deep underground
It lifted cars, while kerbstones and houses in Castlereagh Street shuddered.
Lights flashed on and off and rumblings came from deep underground.
A Sunderland Echo report at the time said: “At first residents feared a gas leak, but when Northern Gas men arrived there was no leak to be found.
“Then the Electricity Board was called in and traced the “quake” to a fault in a cable.
‘It was a nightmare experience’
“Meanwhile the police had evacuated a dozen houses. The families were allowed back to their homes over two hours after the first tremor.
“It was a nightmare experience. As workmen tried to trace the trouble great sighing noises were coming from the hole in the ground causing the men to stand back.”
Reports at the time said it was ‘hair raising to see cars and kerbstones lifting clear of the ground and then dropping back to earth.
Gurgling sounds from ovens
“Lights went crazy, gurgling sounds were coming from ovens and the houses were quivering.”
The faulty cable was eventually found and the Electricity Board cut off supplies to the houses. Supplies were resumed at 9pm that same day.
Tell us if you remember Silksworth’s mini ‘earthquake’ or maybe you have memories another drama in the past in your own neighbourhood.
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