Germany’s strongest earthquake in St. Johann
Science
Austria’s “heaviest” earthquake of the past year occurred on February 25 in St. Johann (Pongau). There was no damage – with the exception of cracks in the plaster of some buildings. By March, the earth in the city of Salzburg had trembled 362 times – mostly very weakly. Most of the earthquakes in 2022 affected Lower Austria.
In Austria, the earth has trembled around 2,300 times so far in 2022. This is in the annual balance sheet of the Central Institute for Meteorology and Geodynamics (ZAMG). 79 earthquakes were felt by the population. The shocks do not cause major damage.
The number of instrumentally registered – and mostly unnoticeable – earthquakes in Austria reached a new high of 2,293. “One reason for this are two extraordinary series of earthquakes,” says Meurers.
Long Pongau series until March
In the Wiener Neustadt area (Lower Austria), 650 earthquakes were recorded from January to March, say the ZAMG experts. In February and March, 362 earthquakes were localized near St. Johann im Pongau. Due to the ongoing consolidation of the network of measuring stations by the ZAMG and within the framework of international cooperation, it is possible, according to experts, to record more and more weak earthquakes.
Significantly more than average
With the station network of the ZAMG earthquake service (as of Thursday 9:00 a.m.) around 11,300 seismic events were registered worldwide. Eight of these were also felt in Austria, three each from Italy and Liechtenstein, one earthquake from Bosnia and one from France. Thus, 87 earthquakes were recorded by the population. Although that was significantly less than in the record year 2021 with 106 noticeable earthquakes in Austria, the number is well above the average of the past ten years of 63 noticeable earthquakes.
The strong earthquake activity two years in a row does not mean a trend towards more earthquakes in Austria, the ZAMG assured: “The tectonic activity is subject to natural fluctuations. with more earthquakes alternate with calmer periods,” says seismologist Rita Meurers.
Strongly noticeable tremors in the Mühlviertel part as well
In addition to the strong quake in Pongau, the two strong earthquakes in the southern Mühlviertel near Gramastetten in Upper Austria were also severely affected and caused minor damage. Major damage to buildings was not reported in 2022.
With 25 earthquakes felt last year, Lower Austria is the front runner among the federal states. In second place is Tyrol with 19 earthquakes. With 14 events, an unusually large number of earthquakes were observed in Upper Austria for this province. Eight noticeable earthquakes were registered in Styria, seven in Carinthia and three felt earthquakes each in Salzburg and Vorarlberg.
4,500 reports from the population
The population reported more than 4,500 perceptions to the Austrian Seismological Service using the ZAMG’s online perception form and the “QuakeWatch Austria” app, which has been available since March 2021. Most of the reports came from the powerful earthquake near Gramastetten in Upper Austria (around 1,200 reports). The reports from the public provide information about the strength of the sensitivity and enable the degree of intensity to be determined on the European macroseismic scale. They are also an important contribution to determining the seismic hazard in Austria.