Mors, Denmark
© Finn Byrum/Ritzau ScanpixFile photo: Mors from the air.
An earthquake measuring 3.4 on the Richter scale was felt in parts of West Jutland on Sunday.

The quake was registered at 10:57am local time. Its epicentre was just outside the town of Hobro, the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland (GEUS) confirmed.


Comment: There seems to be an error in the reporting. While it is true there is a town called Hobro, there is also one called Holstebro located 70 km to the south-west of Hobro. According to the geologists, the small earth quake occured near Holstebro.


"On a global scale, this is a small earthquake, and many of this magnitude occur every day. But for Denmark, this is one of the larger earthquakes. We don't often see earthquakes of this size here," GEUS seismologist and senior researcher Trine Dahl-Jensen said.

An earthquake measuring 3.4 Richter magnitude can cause "noticeable" shaking of indoor objects but very rarely causes damage, according to the scale.

Sunday's tremor is the strongest in Denmark since 2012, when an earthquake reaching 4.3 Richter magnitude was recorded.

GEUS confirmed a quake had occurred after people living in the area reported noticing the tremor on Sunday.

"We noticed briefly that the whole building where we are located was shaking. It's actually a solid building," Central and West Jutland Police duty officer Carsten Henriksen told Ritzau.


Residents of local towns including Lemvig and Struer and on the island of Mors all contacted police having noticed the earthquake.

The location of the epicentre was unusual for Denmark, Dahl-Jensen said.

"We mostly see earthquakes off the coast further north, off Thy. We don't often have earthquakes in this area," she said.

Small earthquakes are often registered in Denmark, but they are usually too minor to be noticed, the seismologist added.

No injuries have been reported as a result of the shaky Sunday morning, Henriksen confirmed.