As of: January 27, 2024, 7:09 p.m
By: Momir Takac
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In Austria, seismologists are puzzling over an ongoing series of earthquakes.
In Tyrol, the population has been constantly alarmed for ten days now.
St. Johann in Tirol – When you think of Austria, you certainly don’t associate earthquakes with it.
Germany's neighbor is more of a ski nation.
With its numerous ski areas, the Alpine republic attracts winter sports enthusiasts year after year.
But Austria is actually making headlines with a strange series of earthquakes.
There have been an increasing number of earthquakes recently in the state of Tyrol, which borders Bavaria.
The Austrian earthquake service GeoSphere Austria registered 15 tremors in the past ten days, all in the St. Johann in Tirol region.
The series began on January 13th with a magnitude 3.0 earthquake, and on the night of January 23rd (4:50 a.m.) the strongest earthquake to date occurred with a magnitude of 4.0.
The worst earthquake in ten days to date has hit Tyrol - tremors can also be felt in Germany
According to GeoSphere Austria, the epicenter was between St. Ulrich am Pillersee and Waidring near the Steinplatte ski area.
The epicenter is less than 25 kilometers from Reit im Winkl (Traunstein district).
The event was also noticed in Bavaria.
“It was also clearly noticeable in Bad Reichenhall OT Karlstein!
It was a real jolt!” wrote a user on the Facebook page “Earthquake in Germany”.
Bad Reichenhall is located in the Berchtesgadener Land district.
Another user said she was “waked up last night by a slight vibration.”
According to her own information, she lives near Marktredwitz in Upper Franconia, which is around 275 kilometers as the crow flies from the epicenter.
At 4:50 a.m. on the morning of January 23rd, the earth shook in Tyrol.
© GeoSphere Austria/Screenshot
GeoSphere Austria received more than 700 reports from the population this morning (as of 6:14 a.m.),
ORF Tirol
reported .
Dozens of reports concerned hairline cracks on walls, and isolated damage to the plaster of buildings was also reported, said seismologist Christiane Freudenthaler of the
German Press Agency
.
Seismologist: “There may be more earthquakes to come”
GeoSphere scientists described the series of earthquakes as “very unusual” because they consisted of several consecutive tremors of relatively high magnitude.
“Theoretically, the whole thing can calm down again over time.
But it is also possible that there will be further earthquakes in the next few weeks.
We are (in the Waidring area, ed.) in the range of magnitude 3 to 3.5.
That is relatively high for the Austrian region,” said seismologist Sophie Authried
ORF Tirol
.
Parts of Tyrol (Austria) are affected by a series of earthquakes.
Most recently, the magnitude was even measured at 4.0.
© Eibner press photo/EXPA/Groder/Imago
The quakes in the Waidring area are a sign that “tectonic tensions have built up there,” she explained.
The wedges in the crust are now loosening.
“But since these are not huge plates colliding, magnitudes like the ones we had in Japan are out of the question.
However, a magnitude of 3 or 3.5 or even higher can still occur.
And that is noticeable on the surface.” On New Year’s Day, Japan was shaken by a magnitude 7.6 earthquake.
(mt)