Record height recorded

The earth shakes most frequently in this federal state

The strongest earthquake of the year in Austria occurred in Lower Austria with a magnitude of 4.6 and minor damage to buildings.

(Bild: APA/ROLAND SCHLAGER (Symbolbild))

Where does the earth shake most often in Austria? The year 2024 brings surprising results. One region in particular recorded an unusually high number of earthquakes - far above the average of recent years. But other federal states were not spared from the tremors either.

In 2024, 140 earthquakes were felt by the population in Austria. "That is well above the average of 67 noticeable quakes per year over the last ten years," said seismologist Rita Meurers from Geosphere Austria on Monday. However, the experts are not observing "a trend towards more earthquakes; the number of earthquakes in Austria fluctuates greatly from year to year". A series in the Waidring-Pillersee area in Tyrol is primarily responsible for the increase this year.

15 earthquakes with a magnitude of over 3.0
There were "50 earthquakes felt there", explained the seismologist. 15 earthquakes reached a magnitude of 3.0 or higher in Austria at the end of the year. This number of strong quakes is three times higher than the average of the past ten years.

A total of around 9,300 seismic events were recorded worldwide in 2024 using the Geosphere Earthquake Service's station network. Around 1,600 earthquakes were localized in Austria, 133 of which were felt by the population. In addition, seven earthquakes from neighboring countries were felt in Austria. All data refer to the situation on Monday, December 30, 11:00 am.

There were, for example, cracks in the plaster and walls, fallen pieces of plaster and damage to chimneys. Some roof tiles also fell, books tumbled from shelves and small objects fell over.

Seismologin Rita Meurers über das stärkste Beben des Jahres

Strongest domestic quake at Semmering
The strongest earthquake of the year in Austria occurred on February 1 at Semmering in Lower Austria. With a magnitude of 4.6, slight damage was caused to many buildings in the epicenter area. "For example, there were cracks in the plaster and walls, fallen plasterwork and damage to chimneys," said Meurers, "some roof tiles also fell, books tumbled from shelves and small objects fell over." Numerous reports of minor damage were also received for the second strongest quake, which occurred on January 23rd in the Waidring-Pillersee area with a magnitude of 3.9.

At around 1,600, the number of instrumentally recorded earthquakes in Austria was above the average for recent years. This was due to several series of quakes and the densification of the seismological monitoring network in Austria.

Most quakes in Tyrol and Styria
With 70 earthquakes felt, Tyrol recorded the most tremors, with the majority of these being attributable to an unusual series in the Waidring-Pillersee area. Styria followed with 20 perceptible quakes, which according to Geosphere is twice the average of the last ten years. This increase was mainly caused by quake series in the Leibnitz, Unzmarkt and Leoben regions. Lower Austria is in third place with 16 earthquakes felt, which corresponds to an average year. In Carinthia, 13 earthquakes were felt, nine of which had their epicenter in the Zell-Pfarre area. Nine earthquakes were recorded in Vorarlberg, particularly in the Wald am Arlberg area, and five earthquakes were felt in Upper Austria, four of them in the Steyrling area.

Seven earthquakes were felt in Austria from neighboring countries. The epicenters were in the Czech Republic, Italy, Slovenia, Croatia and Switzerland.

Around 14,000 perception reports
The Austrian Seismological Service received around 13,950 perception reports via the online perception form and the "QuakeWatch Austria" app, which has been available since March 2021. The strongest quake from Semmering topped the list with more than 3,500 reports.