Alps: New findings about earthquake history

Sampling at Lake Wörthersee The subsurface of Lake Wörthersee was sampled from this 8-meter-high platform in 2018. Michael Hilbe - A team of geologists from the University of Innsbruck examined the sediments of Carinthian lakes for traces of past earthquakes. The results show that the earthquake of 1348 caused the strongest shaking in the Carinthian region since the end of the last cold period. Earthquakes with potential building damage are rare there, but can occur in temporal clusters . As historical records show, Carinthia was shaken by one of the strongest known earthquakes in the Alpine region in 1348. It is certain that the quake caused parts of Villach's local mountain Dobratsch to fall, damming the Gail River to form a lake and thus leading to the flooding of some localities. The epicenter of this earthquake and the actual extent of the damage in Carinthia is, however, a matter of disagreement among historians as well as seismologists.