Earthquake catalogs

• Europe and Mediterranean region
• Central, Northern and Northwestern Europe
• Central Asia

Software

• TRIDEC Cloud
• HybridMT

Data, products & services | Section 2.6 "Seismic hazard and dynamic risks"

• Link to all data, products & services of Section 2.6 
  a.o. World Stress Map Database 2016 (global database with data sets of the current stress state of the earth's crust and interactive service for generating user-specific stress maps) | Seismic load assumptions - construction standards | Safety assessment of dams | Earthquake catalogs | European Macroseismic Scale EMS-98 | GSHAP Online Service (online service for generating maps of the Global Seismic Hazard Assessment Program and making the data available for download) | OpenBuildingMap | CompletenessWeb (data service for interactive retrieval of detection probability maps of various large seismic networks) | European Facilities for Earthquake Hazard and Risk | Ground-ShakingIntensity Model Service

Training course

• Annual GFZ seismology training course

Experiment instructions: Plate tectonics 
These instructions describe how you can create seas and mountains through the movement of a tectonic plate, even on a small scale ("sandbox"). You will also learn about the three different types of plate boundaries.

Suitable for young people aged 12 and over.

Download: Experiment instructions, a short video about the experimentand an animation on the break-up of Pangaea

TO THE WEBSITE OF THE SCHOOL LAB

When staying in a building:
There is no specific protection against earthquakes, partly because they cannot yet be predicted. In the event of an earthquake, it is extremely important to remain calm and immediately seek shelter under a heavy, stable piece of furniture (e.g. a table). If this is not possible, you should take refuge under a sturdy door frame or lie on the floor near a load-bearing interior wall and away from windows. There you should protect your head and face with folded arms.

Stay in the house as long as the earthquake tremors continue. The most dangerous thing is to try to leave the building during the earthquake, as you could be injured by falling objects or broken glass. Exception: you are on the first floor near an outside door that leads directly to the open air (garden or open space, not a narrow street) when the shaking begins. Furthermore, do not use a stairwell or elevator.

If you are outdoors:
Find an open space as quickly as possible, away from buildings, street lamps and supply lines. Stay there until the shocks have subsided. If you are driving a car, move it immediately to the side of the road, away from buildings, trees, overpasses and utility lines. Stay in the vehicle as long as the vibrations continue. Switch on the car radio. Do not drive on bridges, crossings or underpasses. After the earthquake, continue driving with the utmost caution (avoid bridges and ramps that may have been damaged by the earthquake) or leave the car at a complete standstill.

If you are at the foot of a steep slope when the tremors begin, move away from it immediately, as there is a risk of landslides or falling rocks. If you are on a flat coast and notice earthquake tremors there, then run inland as quickly as possible to a higher level. Under certain circumstances, the earthquake can trigger sea waves up to 30 meters high, so-called tsunamis. These sometimes arrive long after the tremors have subsided. A second wave can also follow much later. Therefore, do not leave your elevated refuge until a tsunami warning has been officially issued.

For further information, please refer to the"GFZ leaflet on earthquakes".

Earthquakes are fracture processes in the rock that cause the earth's surface to shake. Most damaging earthquakes to date have a tectonic origin (tectonic earthquakes). They are caused by a sudden displacement along a fracture surface in the earth's crust and the resulting release of the accumulated elastic energy. These fracture zones are mainly found at the boundaries of continental plates (plate boundaries). Researchers also refer to these as tectonic shifts. 

In addition to tectonic causes, there are other causes of earthquakes, such as the extraction of raw materials. This often leaves behind underground cavities (e.g. coal mining, oil production), which can collapse due to tectonic shifts. These are also referred to as man-made quakes or induced seismicity. Volcanism can also be another cause of earthquakes.

Very strong earthquakes with magnitudes above eight occur on average once a year worldwide . Earthquakes with magnitudes between seven and eight occur on average 15 times a year. Earthquakes with magnitudes above seven can have devastating effects on people and the environment. Moderate earthquakes with a magnitude of five to six occur up to 1,300 times a year worldwide, while smaller earthquakes with magnitudes of three to four occur an estimated 130,000 times a year on average. Earthquakes with a magnitude of three are generally only felt by people if they are close to the source of the earthquake. In the vast majority of cases, such smaller quakes do not cause any damage.

No, earthquakes cannot be predicted in terms of day, location and magnitude. However, seismologists are currently developing seismic hazard maps in which the probability of the occurrence of strong ground shaking caused by tectonic earthquakes can be indicated for a specified period of time. Scientists are also researching various methods for early earthquake warning.

Although the earthquake risk in Germany is relatively lowby global standards, it is not negligible. Smaller earthquakes occur time and again, particularly in the Rhine region, the Swabian Alb and in eastern Thuringia and western Saxony with the Vogtland swarm earthquake area . However, earthquakes that can be clearly felt or even cause damage are rare events in Germany.

There are two scales used in earthquake research to classify earthquakes and earthquake shaking according to their magnitude. The two are often confused. Please refer to the GFZ fact sheet (available in German only) that explains the two scales, magnitude and intensity, in more detail.

One of the most difficult parameters to measure in real time is the focal depth of an earthquake. In many, if not most cases, the geometry of the monitoring network in relation to the epicenter does not allow a reliable depth determination. This is particularly the case for shallow earthquakes when no recordings are available from stations close to the epicenter.

At the same time, earthquakes in most parts of the world are shallow, i.e. within the Earth's crust (up to xy km depth). In cases where depth determination is not possible and the earthquake center is most likely shallow, we use a default depth of 10 km . This does not mean that the earthquake center is actually at a depth of 10 km. Rather, it means a shallow center, where shallow usually means somewhere between the earth's surface and 30-40 km depth.

Note that GEOFON often performs a manual revision of the position for important earthquakes . During the manual revision, an experienced seismologist can sometimes identify signals that help to narrow down the depth better than the automatic analysis can. In this case, earthquakes whose depth was initially set at 10 km can later be relocated to a different, better constrained depth.

We currently have more than 1200 high-quality broadband seismometers distributed around the world. The number of measuring stations we use to evaluate an earthquake varies depending on the event. A higher density of measuring stations in Europe and Southeast Asia ensures better coverage in these regions. The stations used recently can be seen on the interactive map on our homepage. Further information can be found on our GEOFON Extended Virtual Network page.

Practical information

• Questions and answers
• Behavior during earthquakes
• Earthquake-proof building

• Earthquakes and Tectonics in Pamir Tien Shan
• Man-made earthquakes

By region

• Seismic Risk at the Dead Sea