"Massive rumble"

Earth shook: almost 3000 reports recorded

The earth shook in the Gloggnitz area.(Bild: stockadobe.com; Geosphere Austria, Krone KREATIV,)

He himself heard the "massive rumble", reported district commander Josef Huber from the Neunkirchen fire department on Thursday after the strongly felt earthquake in Lower Austria. By mid-morning, Geosphere Austria had received almost 3000 reports, with damage reported in 130 cases.

However, "nothing major" was mentioned in the damage reports, emphasized a spokeswoman for Geosphere Austria.

The earth shook in the Gloggnitz area.(Bild: stockadobe.com; Geosphere Austria, Krone KREATIV,)

In a press release, Geosphere Austria cited cracks in the plaster and detached plaster parts of walls. The source of the earthquake was "relatively shallow" at a depth of five kilometers. The magnitude was initially given as 4.4 on Thursday, but was increased to 4.5 in the morning.

"Some fled into the open"
The tremors were felt strongly around the epicenter at Semmering. "Many people were shocked, some fled outside", the earthquake service reported in the broadcast. Small objects fell over, books tumbled from shelves and furniture moved. "The tremors were also felt in the federal states of Styria, Burgenland and Vienna, as well as in Upper Austria as far as Wels."

A crack in a staircase after the earthquake in the Gloggnitz area(Bild: „Krone“-Leserreporter)

"Boxes shook, glasses rattled"
There were no fire department operations as a result of the earthquake, said Huber. However, the tremors were felt intensely for a short time in the affected region. "Boxes shook, glasses rattled," said Huber. He himself lives around 30 kilometers away from the epicenter, but still heard the "rumble" "massively".

Region repeatedly affected
The Gloggnitz area and the district of Neunkirchen have repeatedly been the scene of earth tremors in the past. On March 30, 2023, a magnitude 4.2 caused numerous minor damages in the area affected on Thursday. Exactly two years earlier, on March 30, 2021, there was a powerful earthquake near Neunkirchen. The magnitude was ultimately given as 4.6.

According to Geosphere Austria, the strongest quake in the Semmering region dates back to 27 October 1964 with a magnitude of 5.3. Due to the relatively large focal depth of around 15 kilometers, there was no major damage to buildings at the time. The tremors almost 60 years ago were also felt strongly in Vienna, even causing a performance at the Burgtheater to be interrupted.