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.

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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.