2012 Pernik earthquake

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(6 km)

Pernik, Sofia

The earthquake of Pernik 2012 ( also called earthquake Sofia 2012) occurred on May 22, 2012 at 03:00:33 ( EEST ). Its epicenter was located six kilometers north-west of Pernik in Bulgaria. The earthquake was measured at 5.9-6.0 on the Richter scale. It was all over the country - to feel as well as in some neighboring countries - particularly in the oblasts Blagoevgrad, Kazanlak and Stara Zagora.

More aftershocks were reported, the strongest of them with a magnitude of 4.7 ML at 4:31 EEST.

In Pernik some chimneys and Rudarzi (municipality Pernik ) have collapsed a house in Sofia a residential building was damaged in the quarter Borovo. In Pernik plight and rest day was declared on May 22. Windows are broke, and the walls came tumbling down. One of the chimneys of thermal power plant in Pernik Republika collapsed.

About victims in Sofia or Pernik were no reports. According to the Bulgarian seismic institute there is no connection between this earthquake and the earthquake in Emilia -Romagna on 20 May 2012.

This is the strongest earthquake in the oblasts Sofia and Pernik since Bulgaria's liberation, stronger than the earthquake of 1917 with a magnitude of 5.2 ML.

The depth of the earthquake is 9.1 km. According to other data is the magnitude 5.8 ML.

A 65 - year-old woman from Kyustendil died because of the mental stress during the earthquake of a heart attack. In half of the city Radomir water supply was interrupted.

Causes

The earthquake of Pernik was in close temporal relation to the earthquake in northern Italy in 2012. Both earthquakes occurred within a few hours. In northern Italy, it had a magnitude of 6.1 and 5.8 in western Bulgaria. Also an aftershock in Pernik with the strength of 4.3 on May 29, followed 24 minutes later, an aftershock in northern Italy.

Nevertheless, there is the opinion of the earthquake experts from Munich Re, Alexander Allmann, no causal relationship between the earthquakes in both countries.

Also geophysicist Wolfgang Lenhardt the Austrian Seismological sees the meeting of the earthquakes in Italy and Bulgaria a pure coincidence. In an interview he has said that it was in Bulgaria to a removal of the crust, which rarely happens in the area.