Erdbebenrisiko

The 2020 Risk Report published by the Federal Office for Civil Protection (FOCP) ranked earthquakes along with pandemics and power shortages among the greatest risks facing Switzerland. Although they occur less frequently than other natural hazards, they can cause significant damage.

According to the earthquake risk model of Switzerland, over a period of 100 years, earthquakes can be expected to cause economic damage of CHF 11 to 44 billion to buildings and their contents (such as furniture) alone. In total, around 150 to 1,600 people would lose their lives and an estimated 40,000 to 175,000 would become homeless on a short-term or long-term basis. On top of this, there is damage to infrastructure and losses due to other effects of earthquakes such as landslides, fires or business interruptions. However, these are not yet included in the model. The earthquake risk is not evenly distributed over time, but is dominated by rare, catastrophic earthquakes that usually happen without warning.

Earthquake risk is made up of four factors:

• Earthquake hazard
• Local subsoil
• Building vulnerability
• Affected people and assets