No joke

Earthquake service sounds the alarm about Taylor Swift

Taylor Swift causes earthquakes ...(Bild: APA/AFP/ANP/Robin van Lonkhuijsen)

Will there soon be earthquake warnings before Taylor Swift concerts? In Zurich, her "Swifties" caused such a huge vibration that the seismometers at eight measuring stations went off.

Her dancing and jumping reportedly caused seismic tremors on Tuesday evening. They were measurable up to a distance of six kilometers. The phenomenon has already been measured at previous performances by the musician.

The seismometers of the Swiss Seismological Service recorded the strongest tremors shortly after 7 pm: Taylor Swift took to the stage at Letzigrund at this time and immediately got the 50,000 or so fans jumping and dancing.

"Shake it off" intensifies the ripples
During the course of the concert, too, there were clear swings again and again - depending on the song. These were stronger during their hit "Shake it off" than during a slower song.

As the earthquake service writes on its website, the energy of the rhythmic movements is transferred to the ground as "harmonic vibrations". This can be measured by nearby seismometers. In the case of the Taylor Swift concert, the vibrations were measurable at eight stations up to a distance of six kilometers around the Letzigrund Stadium.

Further away, they were lost in the background noise of the vibrations caused by traffic, construction work, blasting in quarries or sea movements. However, "Swifties" are not the only ones to make the earth shake: Other major concerts have also caused measurable tremors. Soccer matches with cheering fans can also trigger this effect.

The Austrian Earthquake Service will have the opportunity to check the results on August 8, 9 and 10 when Swift performs at the Ernst Happel Stadium.