A moderate earthquake struck parts of southeast England on 28 April 2007，toppling chimneys from houses and rousing residents from their beds. Several thousand people were left without power1 in Kent County. One woman suffered minor head and neck injuries.

　　2007年4月28日英格蘭東南部地區發生中度地震一些房屋煙囪倒塌，許多居民半夜從睡夢中驚醒。肯特郡幾千人遭遇斷電。二名女子頭部和頸部受了輕傷。

　　"lt felt as if the whole house was being slid across like a fun-fair ride,3" said the woman.The British Geological Survey said the 4.3-magnitude quake4 struck at 8:19 a.m. and was centered under the English Channel5，about 8.5 miles south of Dover6 and near the entrance to the Channel Tunnel7.

　　“它(地震)給人的感覺是整幢房子就：像游東場的濞行機一祥在滑動。”;該女子說。 英國地質調査局說，本次里氏4. 3級的地M發生于上午8點19分，震中在英吉利海峽底部， 位于多佛爾以南約8. 5英里處的海峽隧道入口附近。

　　Witnesses said cracks appeared in walls and chimneys collapsed across the county. Residents said the tremor had lasted for about 10 to 15 seconds.

　　一些目擊者看到郡中墻壁出現裂縫,并有煙囪倒塌。當地居民說震動大約持續了 10~15秒。

　　"I was lying in bed and it felt as if someone had just got up from bed next to me." said Hendrick van Eck，27，of Canterbury8 about 60 miles southeast of London."I then heard the sound of cracking，and it was getting heavier and heavier9.It felt as if someone was at the end of my bed hopping up and down."

　　“我當時躺在床上，覺得好像旁邊有人從床上站起來。”住在倫敦東南部60英里處坎特伯雷的 27歲的HendrickvanEck說，“然后我聽到有東西裂開的聲音，而且越來越響。就好像有人在我床 尾不停地并著腳跳。”

　　There are thousands of moderate quakes on this scale around the world each year，but they are rare in Britain. The April 28 quake was the strongest in Britain since 2002 when a 4.8-magnitude quake struck the central England city of Birmingham10.

　　這種規模的中度地震世界上每年都會發生幾千次，但在英國仍非常少見。4月28日的地震是 英國自2002年中部城市伯明翰里氏4. 8級地震以來最強的一次。

　　The country's strongest earthquake took place in the North Sea in 1931，measuring 6.1 on the Richter scale11. British Geological Survey scientist Roger Musson said the quake took place on 28 April in an area that had seen several of the biggest erthquakes ever to strike Britain，including one in 1580 that caused damage in London and was felt in France.12 Musson predicted that it was only a matter of time13 before another earthquake struck this part of England. However，people should not be scared too much by this prediction，Musson said，as the modern earthquake warning system of Britain should be able to detect a forthcoming quake and announce it several hours before it takes place. This would allow time for people to evacuate and reduce damage to the minimum.

　　英國的地震最高曾達到里氏6.1級，1931年發生在北海。英國地質勘測所的科學家羅杰馬森說，4月28日發生地震的地區曾經遭受過幾起英國最大的地震，其中的一次發生在1580年，那次地震蹂躪了倫敦，并波及法國6馬森預言英格蘭的這個地區早晚還會發生地震，但他說人們不 必對此產生太大恐懼，因為英茵的現代地震預警系統應該能夠偵測即將發生的地震，并在震前數小時內通知大家。這將使人們有時間撤離震區，并把損失降到最低。