A local earthquake may have occurred in Latvia today

Photo: Pixabay/psc631798

According to the latest public observations, a seismic event was observed at the Slīteres observation station on Tuesday, April 30, at 11:40 a.m. Latvian time, the Environment, Geology and Meteorology Center informs.

“I have received reports from Liepāja and Durbe that around 11 there was something like a small earthquake. If anyone has any further evidence, it would be helpful if you could report it!” Meteorologist Tom Bricis writes at X.

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 be obtained only 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 in only one observation station. Therefore, the expected magnitude of the event is most likely below 3, which means that damage to buildings or infrastructure related to the earthquake would not be observable, meteorologists explain.

Tom Bricis also writes on the X website that “the seismological station in Slītere recorded ground vibrations, however, the seismologist considers it a very local event, because the stations of neighboring countries did not record this event so clearly”.

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.

Seismological monitoring data is collected continuously, while data processing and interpretation is a manual process.

Read also: Former finance minister Andris Vilks has passed away

Read also: Russia threatens to sink and turn the West into ashes in response to aid given to Ukraine

Read also: MADARA Cosmetics sells the brand for four million euros MOSS

Read also: From May 1, the maximum permitted speed will be increased on certain sections of the road

Read also: Vīķe-Freiberga is ashamed of Latvia’s lagging behind neighboring countries

Also Read: Five Zodiac Signs Most Affected by Pluto Retrograde from May to October

Follow us on Facebook too, X, Instagram and Friends!