The earth shook twice on Saturday in southern Alsace. The first tremor could be felt as far away as Ortenau and the Upper Black Forest. Nothing is known about damage in the region.
The first, more severe earthquake occurred at 5:58 p.m. Its epicenter was in the municipality of Kembs in the Haut-Rhin department, south of Mulhouse. The Swiss natural hazards portal reports a strength of 4.7 on the Richter scale. The earthquake was felt in large parts of north-western Switzerland.
“The couch was rocking.” Perception in Offenburg
Numerous people also registered the earthquake in Baden-Wrttemberg: in the Lrrach district and in Markgrflerland, but also in the Freiburg area and in the Emmendingen district, the earthquake was clearly noticeable. On the Facebook page of the Badische Zeitung, readers from the Upper Black Forest, Ortenau and the Waldshut district also report that the earth has jerked. “I could feel it very clearly,” writes a woman from the Dreisamtal east of Freiburg, for example. “Couch wobbled a lot,” says a Facebook user from the Offenburg area. A user from the Lrrach area classified the earthquake as “short but clear”.
Experts confirm this statement: The Baden-Wrttemberg State Earthquake Service reports that the quake was probably felt within a radius of 120 kilometers and gives the strength as 4.6. Moderate damage is possible at this level.
Second tremor was much lighter
The earthquake is classified as danger level 2 (moderate danger). In the open air, such a tremor is felt in isolated cases, but in buildings by many people. Damage to buildings is generally not to be expected.
According to Switzerland’s natural hazards portal, the earth shook again at 6:07 p.m., this time with a magnitude of 2.5. It is classified as level 1 (no or little danger) and is said to have been noticeable in the Basel region.
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Minor earthquakes shake the region again and again
The Upper Rhine Graben is an area with a known earthquake risk. Smaller earthquakes have repeatedly shaken the region between the Black Forest and the Vosges in recent years. The heaviest quake of the past centuries was long ago: in 1356 earthquakes had largely destroyed the city of Basel. According to expert estimates, the magnitude of this earthquake was 6.2.
Updated at 10:45am
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