Ostrava, North Moravia, Dec 10 (CTK) – An earthquake with the magnitude of up to 3.5 degrees on the Richter scale hit the Czech part of Silesia at around 4:00 a.m. on Sunday, but it did not cause any injuries or material damage, Jan Zednik, head of the seismic service of the Institute of Geophysics, has told journalists.
In the area, this is quite a rare phenomenon, Zednik said.
The epicentre of the earthquake was roughly 12 kilometres under the ground, he added.
“We received roughly 20 phone calls at the emergency line by 6:00,” regional local firefighters spokesman Jakub Kozak said.
“No intervention of the firefighters was needed,” he added.
The quake was noticed by the people in the local municipalities of Hlucin, Kravare and Markvartovice.
“This was a real earthquake, no mine tremor. It was somewhere near Hlucin half way between Opava and Ostrava, with the depth of around 12 kilometres and magnitude of 3.5, which is quite a strong quake, given the conditions in the Czech Republic,” Zednik said.
“Such strong earthquakes may appear in western Bohemia, but they are very rare in Silesia,” he added.
Previously, an earthquake with the magnitude of four occurred in the area in 1935.
