Earthquakes in December 2024

Six earthquakes were felt in Austria in December. The epicentres were in Tyrol, Styria, Upper Austria, Lower Austria and Slovenia.

In southern Carinthia, on 9 December at 03:37 CET, an earthquake was felt by the population in many places in the area between Arnoldstein and Klagenfurt, the epicentre of which was about 13 km southwest of Kranj in Slovenia (46.15°N, 14.25°E). Some of the tremors were clearly felt in Austria with a maximum intensity of 3 to 4 degrees on the 12-step European Macroseismic Scale (EMS-98). Lamps shook slightly, beds trembled slightly in some places and a rumbling of the ground could be heard. The magnitude was 4.0.

At 07:50 CET on 14 December, a slightly perceptible earthquake occurred in Styria with an epicentre around 3 km northwest of Altaussee (47.65°N, 13.72°E). It was occasionally felt by people at rest due to a slight tremor. With a magnitude of 2.4, the epicentre intensity reached 3 degrees on the EMS-98.

On the same day, 14 December, another minor earthquake occurred in Upper Austria shortly afterwards at 08:26 CET. Some people felt it faintly with an intensity of 3 degrees on the EMS-98. The earthquake with a magnitude of 2.1 was localised about 4 km northwest of Hinterstoder (47.72°N, 14.12°E).

In Innsbruck, Tyrol, on 15 December at 16:18 CET, a slight earthquake of magnitude 2.1 was faintly felt by some people. The epicentre was located in the west of Innsbruck (47.27°N, 11.35°E) and the intensity was rated at 2 to 3 degrees on the EMS-98.

On 22 December, at 00:01 CET, a clearly perceptible earthquake occurred in Tyrol, the epicentre of which was located near Waidring (47.59°N, 12.56°E). It was clearly felt by many people, in some cases even described as strong, and a rumbling could be heard. Many were alarmed and frightened. With a magnitude of 2.4, the epicentre intensity was at least 4 degrees on the EMS-98.

On 29 December at 23:22 CET, a slight earthquake was felt weakly to clearly by several people in the southern Vienna Basin. The epicentre was located about 3 km southwest of Bad Fischau (Lower Austria) (47.81°N, 16.14°E). With a magnitude of 1.7, the epicentre intensity was 3 to 4 degrees on the EMS-98.

The Austrian Seismological Service would like to thank the population for their perception reports, which were used to determine the intensity of the earthquakes.

Extract from short form of the 12-level European Macroseismic Scale 1998, based on Mercalli-Sieberg

• 2 Scarcely felt: Vibration is felt only by individual people at rest in houses, especially on upper floors of buildings.
• 3 Weak : The vibration is weak and is felt indoors by a few people. People at rest feel swaying or light trembling. Noticeable shaking of many objects.
• 4 Largely observed: The earthquake is felt indoors by many people, outdoors by few. A few people are awakened. The level of vibration is possibly frightening. Windows, doors and dishes rattle. Hanging objects swing. No damage to buildings.

Date / Universal time / M / Epicentre / Comment

5 Dec 2024 / 18:44 / 7.0 / USA, California, off the coast / 40.37°N 125.02°W / Power outages, some damage, tsunami warning later cancelled

8 Dec 2024 / 19:57 / 6.3 / USA, Alaska / 51.00°N 177.33°W / Uninhabited region

9/12/2024 / 03:50 / 5.6 / El Salvador / 13.22°N 87.88°W / Some houses destroyed, lots of damage, landslides

13/12/2024 / 23:38 / 6.4 / Chile / 35.34°S 70.73°W / Minor damage, power outages, quake centre at a depth of 109 km

17/12/2024 / 01:47 / 7.3 / Vanuatu / 17.69°S 168.03°E / 14 fatalities, 265 injured, over 2,000 homeless, landslides, severe damage to infrastructure, 25 cm high tsunami

27.12.2024 / 12:47 / 6.8 / Kuril Islands / 47.25°N 151.22°E / Uninhabited region

Time - Earthquake time in Universal Time UTC or Greenwich Mean Time GMT / M - Magnitude (logarithmic energy measure) / The coordinates of the world earthquakes are from USGS / Data without guarantee

Seismological Service of Austria - GeoSphere Austria Hohe Warte 38, A-1190 Vienna Tel. +43 1 36026 2508 E-mail: seismo@zamg.ac.at

Translated with DeepL.com (free version)