Swedish earthquake shakes parts of Finland
An unusually strong earthquake in central Sweden on Monday was also felt in Finland.
The University of Helsinki’s Institute of Seismology says that an earthquake occurred shortly after 4 pm in central Sweden, with a magnitude of 5.2 on the open-ended Richter scale. It says the temblor took place some 10 kilometres under the earth’s surface
The institute adds there were a number of observations of the quake in the Pirkanmaa and Satakunta regions of south-western and central Finland. There was also an observation in Vantaa that was likely related to the Swedish quake.
It couldn’t happen here?
According to Matti Tarvainen of the Institute of Seismology, the quake was strong enough to have caused minor damage.
He says that a quake of this size has apparently never taken place in Finland, and according to current models would be impossible here.
Neighbouring Sweden is more susceptible to seismological activity due to the Scandinavian mountain range. There are also several fault lines in southern Sweden, Tarvainen told Yle on Monday.
Swedish institute rates it at 4.1
Swedish public broadcaster SVT says the quake was felt in the Dalarna and Gävleborg areas on Monday afternoon. The Swedish national seismological network, based at Uppsala University, says a quake with a magnitude of 4.1 occurred at 3:08pm local in the southern Härjedalen, some 42 km south of Sveg and 73 km north of Mora.
Residents commenting on social media reported houses shaking for several seconds, but no serious damage or injuries.
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United States: Acoustic sensors give scientists a new perspective in the Arctic, Alaska Public Radio Network
