Earthquake service reports 4.4 magnitude quake in central Switzerland
The SED registers an average of three to four earthquakes per day in Switzerland and neighboring countries, or 1,000 to 1,500 quakes per year.
Keystone / Christian Beutler
An earthquake with a magnitude of around 4.4 on the Richter scale shook the Pragel Pass between cantons Schwyz and Glarus on Tuesday night. The earthquake was probably felt throughout Switzerland, according to the Swiss Seismological Service of federal technology institute ETH Zurich.
This content was published on
2 minutes
Keystone-SDA
Deutsch
de
Erdbebendienst meldet Beben mit Stärke von 4,4 in der Innerschweiz
Original
The quake occurred at 2.34am approximately six kilometers southwest of Lake Wägital, the Swiss Seismological Service (SED) initially wrote in an automated message. The Pragel Pass connects the Muotathal and Klöntal municipalities of canton Schwyz and Glarus.
According to the SED, minor damage is possible in isolated cases during an earthquake of this magnitude near the epicenter. No reports of damage have been received so far, Pascal Weber, media spokesman for the Schwyz cantonal police, told the Keystone-SDA news agency on Monday morning. No damage has been reported at the Wägital AG power plant in Siebnen either, as Ulrich Diethelm, head of IH construction and dam maintainance, reported on request.
Up to four earthquakes a day
The SED registers an average of three to four earthquakes per day in Switzerland and neighboring countries, or 1,000 to 1,500 quakes per year. So far this year, the SED earthquake counter has recorded 756 quakes.
Around 10 to 20 earth tremors with magnitudes from around 2.5 are actually felt by the population each year. The most recent earthquake was probably felt near Arolla in canton Valais with a magnitude of around 3.8 on the Richter scale.
Adapted from German by DeepL/amva
This news story has been written and carefully fact-checked by an external editorial team. At SWI swissinfo.ch we select the most relevant news for an international audience and use automatic translation tools such as DeepL to translate it into English. Providing you with automatically translated news gives us the time to write more in-depth articles.
If you want to know more about how we work, have a look here, and if you have feedback on this news story please write to english@swissinfo.ch.
Related Stories
Popular Stories
More
International Geneva
A Geneva-based global health foundation came close to ‘collapse’. Where were regulators?
Swiss-EU treaties: signatures handed in for Kompass initiative
This content was published on
The committee behind the Compass Initiative submitted the signatures it had collected to the Federal Chancellery on Friday.
This content was published on
Esther Grether has died aged 89. Considered one of Switzerland’s leading entrepreneurs, the owner of the Basel-based Doetsch Grether Group was also a major shareholder in the Swatch Group and an art collector.
This content was published on
The flag of the Swiss Wrestling Federation has been received at the start of the Swiss Wrestling and Alpine Festival in Mollis, canton Glarus.
Figurine heads in Zurich school not considered discriminatory
This content was published on
The 16 carved figurine heads in the auditorium of the Hirschengraben school building in Zurich are not discriminatory, according to an independent expert report.
Swiss political parties report income of CHF22.4 million for 2024
This content was published on
Ten parties reported income totalling CHF22.4 million for 2024, less than in the 2023 election year. The reports are based on the regulations for transparency in political financing.
FIFA loses multi-million lawsuit against Blatter and Kattner
This content was published on
Former FIFA officials Joseph Blatter and Markus Kattner do not have to pay back their own bonuses or the bonus totalling CHF 23 million paid to another FIFA official to FIFA. This was decided by the Zurich Labour Court.
How cancer cells makes healthy cells work for them
This content was published on
Cancer cells manipulate neighbouring cells for their own purposes: a research team at ETH Zurich has discovered that they can reprogram neighbouring cells in such a way that they help the tumour to grow.
This content was published on
The ban on non-residents entering the swimming pool in Porrentruy, canton Jura, expires on Sunday and would be extended until the end of the season, the mayor said.
Natural disasters: most Swiss back forced resettlement
This content was published on
The authorities should be allowed to order forced relocations if there is a medium-term risk of a natural event, according to 58% of participants in a survey.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.