Earthquake sequence near Sion (VS) continues

Friday morning, June 24 at 6:12h (local time), an earthquake of magnitude 3.2 occurred at a depth of 8 km between the villages Grimisuat, Ayent and St. Léonard (VS). It was clearly felt in the city of Sion and in the neighboring villages: We have received about 300 felt reports on our website. No damage is expected for an earthquake of this size.

This earthquake is part of an earthquake swarm that started on June 20, 2015 with an event of magnitude 3.0. After a calm period, the sequence reactivated in May 10, 2016, and included a felt event of magnitude 2.9 on May 21 at 5:49h. This type of earthquake swarm is quite common for Switzerland. However, the further development of the sequence is not predictable: typically swarm activity usually end after a few weeks or months, though in rare cases the strength and number of the earthquakes increase over time.