Earthquakes shake the world without warning. Triggered by a sudden release of stress along faults in the earth’s crust, they can have far-reaching consequences: damaged or collapsed houses, injured people and, in the worst case, even fatalities. In Switzerland and neighbouring countries, severe quakes occur on average every 50 to 150 years. Therefore, they are less frequent than other natural disasters such as landslides, floods or avalanches. Nevertheless, they are considered the natural hazard with the greatest risk in Switzerland.

The first publicly accessible earthquake risk model of Switzerland shows what impact earthquakes can have. It creates a valuable basis for the population, authorities and businesses to better prepare Switzerland for earthquakes and to cope with them in the event of an incident. What factors make up the earthquake risk? Where is the highest earthquake risk? What to do when the earth shakes? Find out the answers to these questions and more in our short lecture.