What damage could earthquakes cause in Switzerland? At present, only a patchy can be given to this important question. Thanks to the Swiss seismic hazard model developed by the Swiss Seismological Service (SED) at ETH Zurich, we know where and how often certain types of earthquake can be expected and how strong the tremors they cause will be at a given location. Yet, it remains largely unclear what damage earthquakes could cause to buildings and infrastructure. The Federal Council has now commissioned the SED, in cooperation with the Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN) and the Federal Office for Civil Protection (FOCP), to plug this gap and devise a seismic risk model by 2022.

Based on the seismic hazard, the risk model takes account of the influence of the local subsurface and of the vulnerability and value of buildings and infrastructure. In future it will enable cantonal and national authorities to draw up improved risk overviews and use them to optimise their planning . Besides prevention, the model will serve to quickly assess where damage can be expected in the occurrence of an event. The development of the model is being financed by contributions from the FOEN, FOCP and ETH.

On 28 March 2017, in consultation with Basel Industrielle Werke (IWB) the Department of Health of the Canton of Basel decided to re-open the borehole in late June created in Basel as part of the "Deep Heat Mining" geothermal power project 2006. The decision was prompted by an increase in microearthquake activity in the immediate vicinity of the borehole over the past few months. An extensive scientific study by the Swiss Seismological Service (SED) at the ETH Zurich revealed that the increased earthquake activity will most probably subside again in the long term if the borehole is opened.

With the support of IWB, the SED has stepped up its seismic monitoring on behalf of the Canton of Basel-Stadt. In addition to routine seismic monitoring, the SED conducts a very thorough daily search for earthquakes near the borehole and automatically transmits the results to the Canton and IWB. These earthquake notifications form the basis of the traffic-light system defined by IWB, which is an important measure for reducing earthquake risk. All detected earthquakes are immediately published on the "List of Earthquakes" page.

Am Dienstag, 6. Juni 2017 ereignete sich um 09:18 Uhr (Lokalzeit) in der Nähe von Schwarzsee (FR) ein leichtes Erdbeben mit einer Magnitude von 3.3. Die Einwohner der Gemeinden in einem Umkreis von rund 30 km haben das Beben verspürt. Auch in den Städten Bern und Fribourg wurde das Beben vereinzelt verspürt. Innerhalb der ersten Stunde nach dem Beben sind von mehr als fünfzig Personen entsprechende Meldungen auf unserer Webseite eingegangen. Schäden sind bei einem Beben dieser Stärke nicht zu erwarten.

Am Freitag, 2. Juni 2017 ereignete sich um 21:05 Uhr (Lokalzeit) in der Nähe von Sion (VS) ein leichtes Erdbeben mit einer Magnitude von 3.3. Die Einwohner der Stadt Sitten und der umliegenden Gemeinden haben die Erschütterungen deutlich verspürt. Auch in angrenzenden Gebieten der Kantone Bern und Waadt ist das Beben bis in eine Distanz von rund 50 km vereinzelt verspürt worden. Von rund 400 Personen sind entsprechende Meldungen auf unserer Webseite eingegangen. Schäden sind bei einem Beben dieser Stärke nicht zu erwarten. Das letzte Beben mit dieser Stärke in der Region Sion ereignete sich vor gut einem Jahr. Allerdings gab es an der dort aktiven Verwerfung seither Dutzende von Beben unterhalb der menschlichen Wahrnehmungsgrenze. Im gesamten Wallis ereignen sich durchschnittlich etwas mehr als 200 Beben pro Jahr.

In Switzerland, earthquakes are the natural hazard with the greatest potential for causing damage. They cannot currently be prevented or reliably predicted. But, thanks to extensive research, much is now known about how often and how intensely the earth could shake at a given location in the future. Consult a variety of different maps using our interactive web tool to find out how likely certain earthquakes are in Switzerland.

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The Swiss Seismological Service (SED) at ETH Zurich is the federal agency responsible for monitoring earthquakes in Switzerland and its neighboring countries and for assessing Switzerland’s seismic hazard. When an earthquake happens, the SED informs the public, authorities, and the media about the earthquake’s location, magnitude, and possible consequences. The activities of the SED are integrated in the federal action plan for earthquake precaution.

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