Despite being built on springs Manchester's state-of-the-art concert venue, Bridgewater Hall, was rocked by an earthquake which struck the city on Monday.
The first of the tremors was felt across much of Greater Manchester measuring 3.2 on the Richter scale was followed shortly by an aftershock measuring 2.3.
A second earthquake struck at 12.42pm and measured 3.9, 11 times more powerful than the first, this was followed by a third (3.5) 20 seconds later. The final earthquake struck just after 6pm.
The Bridgewater Hall, Manchester's new concert venue, is built on springs to absorb vibration from passing trams. They also absorbed the impact of the 1996 IRA bomb. But yesterday's bigger tremors were felt throughout the building.
"It was like being on a cakewalk," said Andy Ryans, marketing officer for the Hallé Orchestra. "We are still bouncing now."
"It's not that unusual to have three earthquakes in one place in one day," said David Galloway, a seismologist at the British Geological Survey. "There were three earthquakes – a 3.4, a 3.2 and a 3.0 – in Ambleside, Cumbria, on the same day in October 1988.
"Manchester could have another earthquake in an hour or in 10 years. Predicting them is something we do not do. It's a very random process."
