Series of Aftershocks near Sargans

The main tremor occurred on December 12, 2013, at 1.59 a.m. (local time) at a depth of seven kilometers. The SED received over 500 reports from people across German-speaking Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and Vorarlberg who had felt the tremor. There were also isolated reports from people in Western Switzerland. The aftershocks of December 16 and 27 with magnitudes of 2.3 and 3.6 as well as six further tremors, the last of which occurred on January 2, 2014, were similarly noticeable. These aftershocks were felt especially by residents near the epicenter in Sargans, Buchs (SG), Balzers, Maienfeld, and Mels. Tremors of this strength do not generally cause any damage. The strongest measured ground movements were 10 times lower than the values of the SIA norms for earthquake-resistant building design. In Switzerland, however, 90 percent of buildings have inadequate or unknown earthquake resistance.

Noticeable, larger earthquakes are nothing unusual in the region between Buchs and Sargans, yet occur relatively seldom. The seismic activity currently being observed in the region is a "normal" phenomenon within the scope of the expected aftershock activity following the tremor of December 12, 2013. Earthquakes cannot however currently be predicted or prevented. Tremors with a magnitude of around 6 occur in Switzerland once every 100 years on average and can in principle happen at any place and at any time.