The Central Institute for Meteorology and Geodynamics (ZAMG) has a noticeable earthquake on Monday at 4:22 p.m. “With a magnitude of 2.3, it was clearly perceived by the population,” reports the Seismologin Rita Meurers. Damage to buildings is not known and not to be expected with this strength.
In the Gramastetten area, the rumble is gradually becoming a habit. Within a few days, several noticeable earthquakes have occurred in the region. The series began on the night of January 15th, a magnitude of 2.8 was registered at 3:54 a.m. On the following Tuesday, the earth shook even more – magnitudes of 3.2 and 3.1 were measured that evening. The slight quake on Wednesday with a magnitude of 1.6 was also felt.
Minor damage reported
The ZAMG announced on its website that more than 1,000 reports had been received from the people of Mühlviertel last week. “The earthquakes were often perceived not only as a rumble, but rather as a bang. An effect that occurs when the earthquake wave couples into the air,” they say. Minor damage to buildings, such as fine cracks, has also been reported near the epicentres.
No earthquake hotspot
According to statistics, earthquakes in Upper Austria are relatively rare. A magnitude of 3.2 is measured on average only every seven years, and there are only about three to four noticeable earthquakes a year in this country. Around the current epicentres northeast of Aschach an der Donau, an earthquake of magnitude 3.3 was last registered in Altenfelden in 1987.
But why has the area become an epicenter so often lately? Earthquakes cause local stress shifts in the subsoil, which can lead to further earthquakes. With magnitudes around 3.0, further earthquakes are likely, according to the ZAMG.
Source: Nachrichten
