The Swiss Seismological Service (SED) at ETH Zurich is the federal agency for earthquakes. Its activities are integrated in the federal action plan for earthquake mitigation.
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Help, the earth is shaking! What to do in case of an incident?
Local Time |
Mag. |
Location |
Felt? |
---|---|---|---|
2021-01-22 19:33 | 3.6 | FRANCE-GERMANY BORDER REGION | Probably not felt |
2021-01-17 11:27 | 2.6 | Milano I | Probably not felt |
2020-12-29 15:36 | 4.4 | 3 km W Salizzole (VR) | Widely felt |
2020-12-29 12:19 | 6.3 | CROATIA | Damage possible |
2020-12-25 18:15 | 2.7 | Courmayeur I | Probably not felt |
Local Time |
Magnitude |
Location |
---|---|---|
2021-01-24 09:40 | 0.8 | Chamonix F |
2021-01-24 08:29 | 0.7 | Saxon VS |
2021-01-24 01:06 | 1.3 | Elm GL |
2021-01-23 22:03 | 0.9 | Elm GL |
Time (UTC) |
Mag. |
Region |
---|---|---|
2021-01-22 06:57:28 | 4.5 | Crete, Greece |
2021-01-21 14:27:03 | 5.1 | CYPRUS REGION |
2021-01-20 23:37:57 | 4.6 | Dodecanese Islands, Greece |
2021-01-20 07:30:27 | 4.5 | Austria |
2021-01-13 09:40:20 | 4.5 | GREECE |
2021-01-12 22:56:48 | 4.7 | Greece |
2021-01-12 22:29:39 | 4.6 | Greece |
2021-01-12 22:09:57 | 5.2 | Greece |
2021-01-10 19:53:02 | 4.5 | Turkey |
2021-01-09 21:29:10 | 4.8 | Northwestern Balkan Peninsula |
2021-01-06 17:01:43 | 5.0 | CROATIA |
2021-01-04 14:38:51 | 4.8 | Greenland Sea |
2021-01-04 08:37:47 | 4.7 | Iceland region |
UTC Time |
Magnitude |
Location |
---|---|---|
2021-01-23 23:36:50 | 6.9 | South Shetland Islands |
2021-01-21 12:23:05 | 7.0 | Philippine Islands region |
2021-01-19 02:46:22 | 6.4 | San Juan Province, Argentina |
2021-01-14 18:28:18 | 6.2 | Sulawesi, Indonesia |
2021-01-12 02:39:19 | 6.2 | Hokkaido, Japan region |
2021-01-11 21:32:59 | 6.7 | Tuva-Buryatia-Mongolia border region |
2021-01-10 06:48:20 | 6.1 | Vanuatu Islands |
2021-01-10 03:54:14 | 6.1 | Salta Province, Argentina |
2020-12-17
Am Donnerstag, dem 17. Dezember 2020, hat sich um 16:59 Uhr (Lokalzeit) etwa 5 km nordwestlich vom Stadtzentrum von Mailand (I) in einer Tiefe von ungefähr 55 km ein Erdbeben der Magnitude 3.9 ereignet. Bei einem Erdbeben dieser Stärke in dieser Entfernung sind in der Regel keine Schäden in der Schweiz zu erwarten.
Aufgrund der recht grossen Tiefe wurden die Erschütterungen im ganzen Tessin deutlich wahrgenommen. Am Schweizerischen Erdbebendienst an der ETH Zürich gingen in den ersten 30 Minuten nach dem Beben ca. 140 Verspürtmeldungen ein.
Auch wenn Erdbeben unter der Po-Ebene nicht unüblich sind, und auch derart tiefe Beben aus der Vergangenheit bekannt sind, wurden in den letzten 20 Jahren keine Beben mit Magnitude 3 oder grösser im weiteren Agglomerationsgebiet von Mailand aufgezeichnet.
2020-12-11
Exactly 20 years ago, the Swiss Federal Council approved the federal action plan for earthquake mitigation, in an acknowledgement that in Switzerland, despite the substantial damage an earthquake could cause, the risk of such an event is all too often underestimated. Under the supervision of the Federal Office for the Environment's Coordination Centre for Earthquake Mitigation, the action plan has been further developed on a rolling basis since then and implemented within the competence of the federal government. As the federal agency for earthquake monitoring, the Swiss Seismological Service (SED) at ETH Zurich has played a vital role in establishing an integrated earthquake risk management system in Switzerland.
One key plank of risk management that has been rolled out over the past 20 years as a result of the action plan is the expansion and modernisation of the national seismic network. This now consists of more than 200 seismic monitoring stations, meaning that seismic activity in Switzerland and neighbouring countries can be recorded comprehensively and in real time. This not only helps to ensure that the authorities, the public and the media can be alerted quickly when an event occurs – it also steadily improves the accuracy of earthquake hazard assessments. Seismic hazard models using state-of-the-art techniques and technology and updated in real time play a key part in further improving earthquake mitigation in Switzerland.
The Federal Council adopted the federal action plan for 2021–24 at its meeting on 11 December 2020, reflecting the federal government's desire to further consolidate earthquake mitigation. Over the next four years, this will see, among other things, precautionary planning for earthquakes and quality assurance for earthquake-resistant construction stepped up. Comprehensive information about the earthquake hazard situation in Switzerland is now available and can be accessed by the public. However, the financial and personal risks that can be expected in the event of an earthquake are still largely unclear because not enough is yet known about the influence of the local subsoil and the vulnerability of buildings, nor are these details available across the country. In this light, the SED is currently developing an earthquake risk model for Switzerland in collaboration with the Federal Office for the Environment and the Federal Office for Civil Protection. Due to be published in 2022, this model is intended to serve as a basis for the federal government and the cantons in the future, with a view to obtaining a quick overview of possible damage in the event of an earthquake. It draws on the regularly updated earthquake hazard assessment and takes into account the influence of the local subsoil as well as the vulnerability and value of buildings and infrastructure. In addition, the earthquake risk model can be used by private companies such as insurance providers to improve their own assessments and services.
Learn more:
Press release [available in DE, FR and IT]
2020-12-03
Bis am Sonntag, 20. Dezember 2020, können sich Interessierte für den Kurs «Erdbebensicherheit im integralen Naturgefahrenmanagement» anmelden. Dieser Kurs ist Teil des «CAS ETH in Angewandten Erdwissenschaften» (Certificate of Advanced Studies), kann aber auch als Einzelkurs besucht werden.
Kursdaten: 08. und 09. sowie 11. und 12. Februar 2021, online (Zoom)
Die Teilnehmenden erhalten einen Überblick, wie die Disziplinen Seismologie, Geologie und Erdbebeningenieurwesen bei der Bewertung der seismischen Gefährdung und Schadensminderung durch erdbebensicheres Bauen ineinandergreifen. Verschiedene Methoden zur Standortcharakterisierung sowie die zur erdbebensicheren Projektierung und Überprüfung von Bauwerken notwendigen Eingabedaten und Richtlinien werden im Kurs beleuchtet. Die Teilnehmenden lernen, den Umgang mit der Erdbebengefährdung im Rahmen des integralen Naturgefahrenmanagements einzustufen und setzen sich mit der Problematik erdbebeninduzierter Naturereignisse auseinander.
Die Kurse der Modulgruppe Geo-Risiken werden in Zusammenarbeit mit dem Schweizerischen Erdbebendienst organisiert und durchgeführt.
Weiterführende Informationen:
Knowledge
Switzerland experiences between 1'000 and 1'500 earthquakes a year. Swiss citizens actually feel somewhere between 10 and 20 quakes a year, usually those with a magnitude of 2.5 or above. Based on the long-term average, 23 quakes with a magnitude of 2.5 or above occur every year. Find out more about the natural hazards with the greatest damage-causing potential in Switzerland.
Knowledge
In Switzerland, earthquakes are the natural hazard with the greatest potential for causing damage. They cannot currently be prevented or reliably predicted. But, thanks to extensive research, much is now known about how often and how intensely the earth could shake at a given location in the future. Consult a variety of different maps using our interactive web tool to find out how likely certain earthquakes are in Switzerland.
About Us
The Swiss Seismological Service (SED) at ETH Zurich is the federal agency responsible for monitoring earthquakes in Switzerland and its neighboring countries and for assessing Switzerland’s seismic hazard. When an earthquake happens, the SED informs the public, authorities, and the media about the earthquake’s location, magnitude, and possible consequences. The activities of the SED are integrated in the federal action plan for earthquake mitigation.
Earthquakes
Around 10 to 20 times a year you will hear or read about an earthquake occurring in Switzerland. However, the vast majority of quakes recorded by the SED go unnoticed by the general public because they fall below the threshold of human perception and can only be detected by sensitive measuring devices. The Swiss Seismological Service (SED) operates a network of more than 200 seismic stations across Switzerland.