Some in the Swiss canton of Vaud might have felt the earth wobble this morning when a quake of 4.3 on the richter scale occurred. The exact location of the quake was Rossinière, according to the Swiss seismological service in Zurich.
Rossiniere_photo credit Louis Garden
10:10 Séisme de magnitude 4.3 à Rossinière VD. Ressenti sur une zone étendue. Dégâts légers possibles. https://t.co/TDoTbQCEJI
— Service Sismologique (@seismoCH_F) July 1, 2017
While noticeable to those nearby, a shake of this magnitude rarely causes much damage. The Swiss seismological service said that light damage was possible.
It is a reminder that Switzerland straddles the intersection of the European and African lithospheric plates.
A total of 800 mild quakes occur every year in Switzerland, however a larger shake could arrive unpredictably say experts. By 1 July 2017, 580 earthquakes had occurred in Switzerland.
The largest recorded quake in Switzerland measured 6.6 and destroyed much of Basel in 1356. The damage was similar to that in San Francisco in 1906.
According to the Swiss seismological service, there have been at least 12 Alpine earthquakes with a magnitude of 6 or more over the past one thousand years. The last major Alpine earthquake took place in 1976 in northern Italy.
More on this:
Earthquakes and the Alps – Swiss seismological service (in English)
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