Earthquake shakes Sweden - tremors felt in Finland

print this

An earthquake that rocked homes in the north of Sweden late on Tuesday evening shook the ground even in Central and Northern Ostrobothnia in Finland at around 23:30 Finnish time.
     
The quake was considered to be strong on the Finnish scale.
      Seismologist Jari Kortström from the Institute of Seismology of the University of Helsinki says that according to preliminary information, Tuesday’s earthquake, the epicentre of which was in Sweden, measured 3.6 or 3.8 on the Richter scale.
      ”In Sweden and Finland it is rare that the magnitude of an earthquake is over 3.0. As a rule, quakes measure here only 2.0 to 2.5 on the Richter scale, which is why they are noticed only in a very small area”, Kortström noted.
     
On the whole, the number of earthquakes strong enough to be noticed without measuring equipment is very low in Finland. According to Kortström, only a few such quakes occur annually.
      On Wednesday, the Insititute of Seismology received a number of contacts from residents in Central and Northern Ostrobothnia who claimed to have felt the earth move (no, really) the previous night.
      The largest number of contacts came from Kokkola, but the vibrations had been felt even in Kalajoki, Alavieska, Haaparanta, Tornio, Sievi, Ylivieska, and Pietarsaari.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Finnish nuclear power plants reinforced to withstand earthquakes (23.9.2004)
  Two earthquakes detected in Baltic Sea area (22.9.2004)

Links:
  Insititute of Seismology

Helsingin Sanomat