German Seismologists Correct Faulty Czech Earthquake Data

The German Research Centre for Geosciences erroneously reported a magnitude 5.49 earthquake in the Czech Republic on Thursday evening, later manually revising the figure to a minor 1.8 tremor.

False Alarm from Potsdam

On Thursday evening, July 9, the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) in Potsdam reported an earthquake in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Initial automated data suggested an epicenter in the Rokycany region near Plzeň, with an estimated magnitude of 5.49 at a depth of ten kilometers.

Refutation by Czech Authorities

The Institute of Geophysics of the Czech Academy of Sciences detected no such seismic activity. Spokesperson Lucie Crippa confirmed that no earthquake occurred on their territory, dismissing the German data as a likely localization error. GFZ spokesperson Josef Zens admitted the initial report was an automated signal generated by a potential sensor malfunction.

Revision to Minor Micro-tremors

Following manual verification, GFZ experts updated the magnitude to 1.8 at a depth of one kilometer. Such events are classified as micro-tremors, which are barely perceptible. Director of the Czech Institute of Geophysics, Ales Spicak, confirmed that the minor activity was noted near Pisek, with only a few people reporting that they felt the tremors.