Austria has witnessed a significant rise in the number of earthquakes felt by the public in 2024, with 140 reported – far above the average of 67 per year over the past decade.

“However, experts are observing no trend towards more earthquakes, as the number of earthquakes in Austria fluctuates significantly from year to year,” said seismologist Rita Meurers from Geosphere Austria.

Tyrol recorded the highest number of felt earthquakes, with 70 reported, the majority of which came from the Waidring-Pillersee region. Styria followed with 20 felt earthquakes — double the average for the past decade — largely due to seismic activity in Leibnitz, Unzmarkt and Leoben. Other regions, including Lower Austria, Carinthia, Vorarlberg and Upper Austria, also reported several felt earthquakes, with epicentres spread across the country.

In total, around 1,600 earthquakes were recorded in Austria, with 15 of them reaching a magnitude of 3.0 or higher, a figure three times the average of the past decade.

The strongest earthquake occurred on February 1 at Semmering in Lower Austria, registering a magnitude of 4.6. This caused minor damage to buildings, including cracks in plaster, fallen roof tiles and displaced books and small objects.

Another significant tremor took place on January 23 in the Waidring-Pillersee area, with a magnitude of 3.9. There were also reports of light damage from this event.

Experts have attributed the higher number of earthquakes to both the occurrence of multiple earthquake series and improvements to Austria’s seismological measurement network, which has become more dense in recent years.

Austria also experienced seven earthquakes from neighbouring countries, including the Czech Republic, Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, and Switzerland.

In total, the Austrian Earthquake Service received nearly 14,000 perception reports in 2024 through its online form and the “QuakeWatch Austria” app, which launched in March 2021. The Semmering quake alone prompted more than 3,500 reports.