Geophysicist Brigitte Knapmeyer-Endrun from the Bensberg Earthquake Survey of the University of Cologne has already taken a closer look at the measured values. She says: "The quake was at a depth of 10 to 15 kilometers." The strength of the quakes is also not unusual for the Rhineland, she says. At 11.11 pm the seismographs showed the strongest movement. On Monday there were some smaller aftershocks. In total there were seven smaller quakes. The last quake was at 3:42 am local time with a strength of 1.6.

Knapmeyer-Endrun says: "We have not yet received any reports from local residents. Presumably many people were already in bed at that time and such light tremors are not unusual in cities.“ The epicentre seems to have been in the south of Bonn. Various observers suspect the location in an area between Wachtberg and Bad Godesberg. The Hessian State Office for Nature Conservation, Environment and Geology, for example, states Wachtberg as the epicentre, while the State Office for Geology in Rhineland-Palatinate shows it near the Kottenforst in Ückesdorf.

The last time the earth had trembled similarly strongly in the region was on 22 March. At the event in Meckenheim, a magnitude of 2.1 on the Richter scale had been determined. The source of the earthquake had been located at a depth of about eight kilometres and was therefore more easily felt than the quake last night.

Many readers might still remember April 13, 1992, when the earth shook in Bonn as well, starting with an earthquake near Roermond with a magnitude of 5.3. Back then, a 79-year-old woman from Bonn, living alone, subsequently died of a fatal heart attack from the excitement. The authorities counted a total of 40 people who were injured in the Rhineland at the time.

Original text: Anja Wollschlaeger

Translation: Mareike Graepel