Did you feel the earthquake too? Write to us at tip@koktejl.sk
Experiencing an earthquake can be a nightmare for some that they never want to live through. But while in the past we only heard about this natural disaster from abroad, today it is a phenomenon that appears in our regions as well. Fortunately, however, not in such an intense force that there would be more damage or loss of life.
An earthquake with a magnitude of 4.3 struck western Slovakia on Saturday afternoon, initial data indicated a magnitude of 4.6. The European-Mediterranean Seismological Center (EMSC) informs about it on its website. Kristián Csicsay, head of the seismology department of the Slovak Academy of Sciences, also confirmed the earthquake for TASR. As he added, the epicenter was on the Slovakian-Hungarian border approximately two kilometers from Šamorín.
The EMSC website marked the location of the earthquake measurement with coordinates that they refer to a field near the village of Kyselica near Šamorín. Previous data referred to the Gabčíkovo waterworks. According to the EMSC, the earthquake should have occurred at a depth of 13 kilometers at 1:44 p.m. CET. Csicsay told TASR that the data measured by automatic instruments has yet to be reviewed by a seismologist.
Šamorína Diana, a resident, described for TASR that the tremors were intense for about ten seconds. She felt as if a plane had fallen very close. “Our whole house and furniture were shaking, my friend and I went outside, where we also met the other neighbors,” she stated. The tremors were also felt in Bratislava. People felt their seats, desks and monitors shaking. Firefighters confirmed for TASR that they are conducting a search in the area around Šamorín based on calls.
Other readers who felt the earthquake firsthand contacted our editorial office. “Today at 1:45 p.m. I was lying on the sofa in the living room of a block of flats on the 4th floor when the bed shook me repeatedly. Although I knew there was an earthquake, I didn’t run away and I didn’t care because I have a fever and a sore throat,” the reader told us how she reacted to the shocks.
Reader Robo initially thought it was something he was used to. “I also registered something today that I later assessed as an earthquake. I was hanging out in the attic when I heard what sounded like quite intense thunder followed by the shaking of the floor,” he described the feeling he had.
“At first I thought it was just a massive release of melting snow from the roof, but the thump and shaking of the floor did not match that (that would have to be an avalanche and there is not that much snow). It only took a few seconds,” he thought.
He had already experienced a similar tremor. “I live near the airport in Trnávka, and I experience a similar shaking of the floor and the rattling of the glass on the windows when heavy cargo turboprop planes take off (fortunately, it doesn’t happen so often anymore). Using the method of exclusion, I came to the conclusion that it was really an earthquake,” he wrote to us.
The police in the Bratislava region have so far not registered any injuries or property damage in connection with Saturday’s earthquake that hit western Slovakia. Residents are not in immediate danger. She informed about it on the social network. The Operations Center of the Regional Directorate of the Fire and Rescue Service in Bratislava told TASR that on Saturday, the fire brigade did not make any trips in connection with the earthquake.
“During this afternoon, we recorded short-term earthquakes in the territory of the Bratislava region. In this context, we have not yet registered any event in which there would be damage to the health or property of the population. Residents are not in immediate danger at this time“, the police said.
