Lois & Clark Forums Forums General Discussion Off Topic Earthquake near Malmö

Well, this morning we had an earthquake near Malmö. Everyone is talking about it. But I didn't feel it, can you imagine? It was the strongest earthquake in Sweden for a hundred years. I think it was magnitude 4.7 on the Richter scale. It happened at 6.20 a.m., and I was just parking my bicycle in the bicycle stand outside the Central Station, where I catch my commuter train every morning. I didn't feel a thing. Of course, trains are roaring in and out of the Central Station all the time, and all those buses come and go outside it, and the Central Station is being rebuilt, too, so there is enough noise and rumblings there to mask an earthquake, to be sure. But it was weird to come to school and hear everybody talk about the earthquake and have to ask, "Earthquake? What earthquake?"

Ann

Several years ago, we had a quake of similar magnitude near our home, but it happened in the middle of the night. I sure slept through it, and when my brother told me about it the next day, I didn't believe a word. And when my mother confirmed that there had indeed been a quake, I still believed they were pulling my leg. Only when people at school talked about it, too, I started to believe.

Yep. Earthquake. When I came home, a small doll that I keep on top of a bookcase had fallen to the floor.

Ann

Earthquakes are weird, and quite often the exact location seems to matter more than the magnitude. We had one about the same magnitude in Britain, a couple of miles off the South coast last year; that one did quite a lot of property damage in the nearest town. This year there was a slightly bigger one about 200 miles from my home; it was at about 2 AM and thanks to my insomnia I actually felt my house shake slightly without realising what was happening, but even though the centre was directly under a town it seems to have done a lot less damage.

You're right there, Marcus. The different ground materials have a huge influence on how well/how far the quake waves (sp?) are distributed. For instance, a rather big earthquake around LA wouldn't do much damage to the surrounding area. A quake of similar magnitude in the heart of the states (like in the New Madrid Seismic Zone) could easily affect most of the Great Plains.

I think it has to do with how deep down the epicenter of the quake is, too. If it is near the surface, it will do a lot more damage than if it is deeper down.

Ann

I live in California, so earthquakes are not generally news here unless its a big one. Tell you what though, there is no way to miss a 7.0. I was literally tossed out of bed.