What happened

An earthquake was recorded at 10:45 on Thursday, 22 October, about seven kilometres south of Les Diablerets in the canton of Vaud, according to the Swiss Seismological Service (SED) at ETH Zurich. The SED put the depth at roughly five kilometres. Reports said the tremor was likely felt over a wide area around the epicentre. A quake of this size is not normally expected to cause damage.

Conflicting magnitude figures

Sources disagree on the magnitude. SRF News and Blick reported 3.5, while 20 Minuten gave 3.8 on the MLhc scale. RTS reported about 3.8 on the Richter scale, and swissinfo.ch, citing Keystone-ATS, also gave 3.8. The reports reviewed here do not reconcile the two figures.

Hazard level and advice

The SED rates the hazard at level 3, which Blick and 20 Minuten said means minor damage is possible in weaker buildings and objects may fall inside buildings. Blick cited Meteo Schweiz's explanation that from level 3 the quake is widely felt. 20 Minuten advised people to expect further, sometimes strong, tremors, to take cover under a stable table during any new quake, and to check weaker buildings for damage once the danger has passed.

Routine seismic activity

The SED registers between 1,000 and 1,500 earthquakes a year, and the population feels only 10 to 20 of them. Felt quakes generally have a magnitude of 2.5 or more, according to the service as reported by SRF News, RTS and swissinfo.ch.