A small earthquake was recorded in Kurzeme / Article

According to the latest public observations, also at the Slītere observation station today at A seismic event was observed at 11 and 40 seconds after Latvian time. In Latvia, seismological monitoring is carried out at one observation station – Slīteres – however observations are also compared at stations located around Latvia in Estonia, Lithuania, Finland, Poland and Denmark. The specific event was clearly recorded only at one observation station – Slītere – however, more precise information about the location of the event can only be obtained after an in-depth data analysis.

At the moment, it is clear that the earthquake, if there was one, is of a local scale, since signs of it can be observed only at one observation station. Therefore, the expected magnitude of the event is most likely below 3, which means that no damage to buildings or infrastructure related to the earthquake would be observed.

Ground movements observed in Latvia are usually small-scale, related to human activity, for example, military exercises. The last natural earthquake in the Baltic region was recorded in 2022 in the north of Estonia with a magnitude of 2.3. Natural earthquakes in the region rarely exceed magnitude 3.

Residents shortly after 11 social networks started to report about the vibrations of the ground, buildings and objects in Liepāja and Dienvikkurzeme region. On the other hand, residents on the Saldus side also heard a hollow sound that lasted for a few seconds.

In this century, the strongest earthquake in Latvia occurred on October 21, 2004, when two moderately powerful earthquakes were recorded near the border of Kaliningrad and Poland, causing panic among the residents of Kaliningrad, who left the “neighboring” buildings. The earthquake was well felt in Latvia as well.

Earthquakes were felt throughout Kaliningrad, northeastern Poland and also in the Baltic States. In Poland, ground shaking damaged at least one building.

“This is a unique phenomenon for our latitude,” Māris Segliņš, director of the State Geological Service, admitted in an interview with Latvian Radio at the time.

He stated that two epicenters of underground tremors in the Kaliningrad region were found – shortly after 10 the strength of the earthquake was more than five points on the Richter scale, but at 12.40 – 5.2 points.

“It is a lot,” emphasized Seglins.

The head of the geological service stated that at At 16.45 a very strong shock was observed in the north-west of Estonia. As a result, the underground tremor recording equipment in this country went out of order. So the underground thrust was very strong.

As Seglinņš informed, there is great international interest in the underground shocks observed in the Baltic region. The scientists of not only the Baltic Sea region, but also of other European countries are in shock. Investigation of underground thrusts has begun.

The State Geological Service received calls from many worried residents who were shocked by what was happening and had to be reassured.

Seglins also said that an average of ten small underground tremors are registered in Latvia during the year.

He admitted that it is difficult to warn about the recurrence of the earthquake, because “nothing can be predicted in nature”. Mexico has invested huge funds to create a warning system, but it too can only predict an earthquake half an hour before it occurs.