Residents around Blackpool in the UK were jolted awake by a seismic movement this morning. This is the fourth quake registered since fracking activities began in the area.
The tremor measured 2.6 on the Richter Scale. While not strong enough to cause structural or personal damage, it was sufficiently intense to be felt.
Hydraulic fracturing (‘fracking’) is a controversial industrial practice that involves injecting a mixture of water and chemicals at high pressure into underground fissures to extract resources such as oil or gas.
The British Government has so far issued one hundred licences for similar operations to go ahead at as many sites across the British Isles.