List of earthquakes in Poland

Last updated

Earthquakes in Poland are a rare phenomenon. Most often they are caused by rock bursts in coal or copper mines. Natural ones appear in the Carpathian Mountains, Sudetes, or in the Trans-European Suture Zone. Sometimes events from other countries are felt in Poland.

Contents

Natural Earthquakes

DateLocationMagnitudeDamage/notes
5 June 1443 Sudetes?6 (est.)According to the records in the Jan Długosz chronicle, the earthquake damaged buildings in Kraków and Wrocław killed 30 people. It was the strongest earthquake in the history of Poland. [1] Other research localised the epicenter to Slovakia. [2]
9 July 1662 Tatra Mountains < 6 (est.)
26 January 1774near Racibórz 5 (est.)
25 August 1785 Wisła 5 (est.)
3 December 1786 Tresna 5.4 (est.)Damaged buildings in Kraków [3]
1875 Hrubieszów 3.7 [4]
4 February  8 March 1932 Płock, Łuków, Kock, Lublin, Bogoria, Jędrzejowo, Małogoszcz 4.0–4.5Unusual earthquake swarm on the line of the Trans-European Suture Zone; series of small, shallow quakes, causing cracks in buildings and frozen ground. Cracks in the ground were 2 kilometers long and 1-2 centimeters wide. [5]
20 November 2004 Czarny Dunajec 4.7Damage to buildings including schools and a church [6]
6 January 2012 Żerków 3.8Small cracks in buildings; unusual quake in aseismic area [7]
10 December 2017 Wodzisław Śląski, Prudnik, Bielsko-Biała 3.4 [8] [9]
6 July 2020 Polkowice 4.9No structural damage; one of the strongest, instrumental-registered quakes in Poland [10]

Mining-induced earthquakes

Between 2015 and 2019, in Polish mines, 23 strong earthquakes occurred, killing 24 miners and damaging buildings on the surface. [11]

DateLocationMagnitudeDamage/notes
29 November 1980 Bełchatów Coal Mine 4.7Cracks in the ground; damaged chimney [12]
20 July 1987 Lubin, Copper Mine4.8-4.9Four miners killed, [13] [14]
13 January 2005KWK Rydułtowy-Anna, Rydułtowy 3.5 [15]
10 March 2013KGHM O/ZG Rudna, Polkowice 4.619 miners rescued from collapsed part of mine [16]
29 November 2016KGHM O/ZG Rudna, Polkowice 4.48 miners killed [17]
23 April 2022KGHM O/ZG Zofiówka 2.710 miners killed, 20 others injured [18] [19]
22 August 2023 Bobrek Coal Mine 3.8damaged chimney and car in Bytom, [20]
5 October 2023 Staszic Coal Mine, Katowice 3.2 [21]
20 September 2024 Polkowice 3.6No significant damage or casualties have been reported, as the tremor was moderate in intensity [22]
27 February 2025 Polkowice 4.7Multiple people reported V MMI intensity and people further from the epicenter reported I MMI [23]

References

  1. "W 1443 roku w Polsce doszło do najsilniejszego w historii kraju trzęsienia ziemi". www.rp.pl.
  2. Guterch, Barbara (2009). "Sejsmicznoœæ Polski w œwietle danych historycznych" (PDF). Przegla̧d Geologiczny (in Polish). 57 (6). Retrieved 25 September 2020.
  3. "Krakowskie trzęsienia ziemi". Dziennik Polski. May 28, 2011.
  4. "Trzęsienia ziemi Wydawnictwo Szkolne PWN". WSPWN.
  5. Gołębiewski, Grzegorz. "Trzęsienie ziemi w powiecie płockim w lutym i marcu 1932" (PDF). Notatki Płockie. 230: 24–29.
  6. Razowski, Łukasz (2009-11-30). "Pięć lat temu Podhale nawiedziło trzęsienie ziemi". Gazeta Krakowska (in Polish). Retrieved 2020-09-28.
  7. "Trzęsienie ziemi w Żerkowie". Państwowy Instytut Geologiczny - PIB (in Polish). 9 January 2012. Retrieved 2020-09-28.
  8. Andrzej Dereń (11 December 2017). "Zatrzęsło ziemią bardzo blisko Prudnika! | Teraz Prudnik!" (in Polish). Retrieved 2020-11-12.
  9. "Trzęsienie ziemi miało centrum w Polsce, a nie w Czechach". www.nowiny.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 2020-11-12.
  10. "Wstrząs sejsmiczny w rejonie Polkowic (LGOM)". Państwowy Instytut Geologiczny - PIB (in Polish). 13 July 2020. Retrieved 2020-09-28.
  11. "WUG: w 2019 r. blisko 1,8 tys. silnych wstrząsów w kopalniach węgla i rud miedzi". forsal.pl. May 20, 2020.
  12. GIBOWICZ, SLAWOMIR J.; GLAZEK, JERZY; WYSOKIŃSKI, LECH (2017). "ZJAWISKA SEJSMICZNE W REJONIE KOPALNI WĘGLA BRUNATNEGO BEŁCHATÓW". Biuletyn Państwowego Instytutu Geologicznego. 469: 246–250.
  13. "Séisme modéré mag. 4.9 - Powiat de Polkowice, 9.5 km au nord-ouest de Lubin, Pologne, samedi, le 20 juin 1987 00:37".
  14. K Geofizyczne badania stanu gorotworu w swietle nowych uregulowan prawnych Mirek A Oset
  15. "Tąpnięcie w kopalni Rydułtowy". Rybnik.
  16. "Wstrząs w kopalni Rudna: To było jak trzęsienie ziemi (RELACJE GÓRNIKÓW, AKCJA MINUTA PO MINUCIE)". Gazeta Wrocławska. March 20, 2013.
  17. "Silny wstrząs w kopalni KGHM Rudna. Ośmiu górników nie żyje [ZDJĘCIA, WIDEO]". Wroclaw Wyborcza.
  18. "Ten people dead in Poland's second mining disaster in a week". Euronews . Retrieved 2022-04-28.
  19. "Ten trapped in Poland's second mine accident this week". RTÉ. 23 April 2022. Retrieved 2022-04-29.
  20. https://tech.wp.pl/trzesienie-ziemi-na-slasku-wyjasnimy-czy-bylo-grozne,6933317597559712a [ bare URL ]
  21. https://www.24kato.pl/potezne-nocne-tapniecie-w-katowicach-i-okolicy-to-z-kopalni-murcki-staszic-w-katowicach [ bare URL ]
  22. https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/us6000nifx/executive [ bare URL ]
  23. https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/us6000pvs3/executive [ bare URL ]