How Does the Swiss Seismological Service Communicate?
close window

On the website of the Swiss Seismological Service (www.seismo.ethz.ch), you can find detailed information on current earthquakes at home and abroad within around 90 seconds, plus a range of background information about the natural hazard with the highest damage potential in Switzerland.

50 000

people visit the Swiss Seismological Service’s website in an average month with no major earthquakes.

326 650

is the current visitor record in March 2017 after the earthquake near Urnerboden with a magnitude of 4.6.

More than 195

news reports have been published on the main page so far.

Since September 2013, the Swiss Seismological Service has tweeted in four languages about every earthquake in Switzerland or its neighboring countries with a magnitude of 2.5 or greater.

@seismoCH_D
@seismoCH_F
@seismoCH_I
@seismoCH_E

More than 4500

people currently follow the Swiss Seismological Service on Twitter (as of July 2018).

Have you felt an earthquake? Enter your observations in the online questionnaire at www.seismo.ethz.ch. This information helps determine the macroseismic intensity (a measure of the effects of an earthquake on infrastructure, environment, and people).

6318

questionnaires were completed after the earthquake in the canton of Aargau on November 12, 2005 (magnitude of 4.1). This is a record!

40

questionnaires are completed on average after an earthquake that can be felt but is not strong.

1100

questionnaires were submitted by post after the earthquake in Sierre on January 25, 1946 (magnitude of 5.8).

How Does the Swiss Seismological Service Communicate? Website Twitter Television, radio, newspapers Earthquake alert Online questionnaire

After a noticeable earthquake, the seismologists at the Swiss Seismological Service often give interviews for television, radio, or newspapers.

Over 1000

media inquiries have been answered by the Swiss Seismological Service in the last five years.

107

media reports were published in March 2011 after the Tohoku earthquake in Japan (magnitude of 9.0).

72

media reports were published in July 2017 after the Château d’Oex earthquake (magnitude of 4.3).

20

media reports are published on average every month.

16

media reports were published in December 2013 after the two earthquakes near Sargans (magnitudes of 4.1 and 3.5).

In the event of an earthquake with a magnitude of 2.5 or greater, authorities such as canton operations centers and federal offices automatically receive an earthquake alert.

Alarms to authorities are created automatically from prepared text blocks and sent in the three official languages as well as in English.

In the case of an earthquake with a magnitude of 5.5 or greater, a warning is sent that all the media are obliged to disseminate.

13

alarms were sent to authorities by the Swiss Seismological Service in 2016.