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| Earthquake damage closes school | Earthquake damage closes school |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| Nearly 1,000 pupils in Kent are having the day off after Saturday's earthquake left school buildings cracked and ceilings in need of inspection. | Nearly 1,000 pupils in Kent are having the day off after Saturday's earthquake left school buildings cracked and ceilings in need of inspection. |
| A full assessment of the Harvey Grammar School, in Cheriton Road, Folkestone, was due to be carried out on Monday. | A full assessment of the Harvey Grammar School, in Cheriton Road, Folkestone, was due to be carried out on Monday. |
| Head teacher Keith Rivers said: "I've got a duty of care and responsibility to more than 900 students and 100 teachers and members of support staff." | Head teacher Keith Rivers said: "I've got a duty of care and responsibility to more than 900 students and 100 teachers and members of support staff." |
| A total of about 50 properties were said to be too dangerous to return to. | |
| The 4.3 magnitude earthquake struck at 0819 BST on Saturday, with the epicentre 7.5 miles into the English Channel off the coast of Dover. | The 4.3 magnitude earthquake struck at 0819 BST on Saturday, with the epicentre 7.5 miles into the English Channel off the coast of Dover. |
| Loose chimneys | |
| The damage to the Harvey Grammar School was discovered during an inspection on Sunday. | The damage to the Harvey Grammar School was discovered during an inspection on Sunday. |
| Mr Rivers said: "Some brickwork is displaced and there are some cracks in the gabling that are quite large and are going to need repairing. | Mr Rivers said: "Some brickwork is displaced and there are some cracks in the gabling that are quite large and are going to need repairing. |
| "Three classrooms have some damage, and the ceiling is slightly lower than it should be in one room. | "Three classrooms have some damage, and the ceiling is slightly lower than it should be in one room. |
| "This certainly wasn't on our agenda, but we're very optimistic that the school will be open tomorrow [Tuesday]." | "This certainly wasn't on our agenda, but we're very optimistic that the school will be open tomorrow [Tuesday]." |
| Power lines were brought down by the earthquake | |
| Meanwhile, some residents have spent a second night away from homes which have been deemed unsafe, because of loose chimney stacks, tiles and masonry. | Meanwhile, some residents have spent a second night away from homes which have been deemed unsafe, because of loose chimney stacks, tiles and masonry. |
| Shepway District Council said about 800 calls had been made to a structural damage helpline and about 50 properties were dangerously unsafe. | |
| Council chief executive Alistair Stewart said the clean-up operation could take "quite a few weeks". | |
| Building control officers have worked with fire and police crews to try to make buildings and roads as safe as possible. | Building control officers have worked with fire and police crews to try to make buildings and roads as safe as possible. |
| Surveyors are being drafted in from as far afield as Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex and Wiltshire to help Shepway council. | |
| Mr Stewart said Folkestone's Civic Centre in Castle Hill Avenue would be opened up as a help and advice centre for people affected by the earthquake. | |
| Michael Howard, Conservative MP for Folkestone and Hythe, said of the emergency services: "I think they performed very well and I want to pay tribute to them for that." | Michael Howard, Conservative MP for Folkestone and Hythe, said of the emergency services: "I think they performed very well and I want to pay tribute to them for that." |