The 1946 Valais earthquake struck on January 25 at 17:32

local time Local time is the time observed in a specific locality. There is no canonical definition. Originally it was mean solar time, but since the introduction of time zones it is generally the time as determined by the time zone in effect, with daylight s ...

with an epicenter region in

Sierre Sierre (; german: Siders, ; frp, Siérro, ) is the capital municipality of the district of Sierre, located in the canton of Valais, Switzerland. It has a population of 16,332. Sierre is nicknamed City of the Sun (french: Cité du Soleil) for i ...

, near the capital city of

Sion Sion may refer to * an alternative transliteration of Zion People * Sion (name) or Siôn, a Welsh and other given name and surname, including a list of people and fictional characters with the name * Shion or Sion, a Japanese given name Pl ...

Valais Valais ( , , ; frp, Valês; german: Wallis ), more formally the Canton of Valais,; german: Kanton Wallis; in other official Swiss languages outside Valais: it, (Canton) Vallese ; rm, (Chantun) Vallais. is one of the cantons of Switzerland, 26 ...

, a canton in

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

. The earthquake had an estimated moment magnitude () of 6.2 and a maximum Modified Mercalli intensity of VIII (''Severe'').

Earthquake

The earthquake immediately disrupted the supply of power in

, and other nearby populated centers in the

canton. The tremors caused panic and drove residents out of their homes. Many homes suffered damage to their structure, with

chimneys A chimney is an architectural ventilation structure made of masonry, clay or metal that isolates hot toxic exhaust gases or smoke produced by a boiler, stove, furnace, incinerator, or fireplace from human living areas. Chimneys are typic ...

destroyed, detached

roof tiles Roof tiles are designed mainly to keep out rain, and are traditionally made from locally available materials such as terracotta or slate. Modern materials such as concrete, metal and plastic are also used and some clay tiles have a waterproof g ...

, and broken facades. A newly-constructed church in

Chippis Chippis is a municipality in the district of Sierre in the canton of Valais in Switzerland. History Chippis is first mentioned in the 11th century as ''Sepils''. Geography Chippis has an area, , of . Of this area, or 5.6% is used for agricu ...

partially collapsed and had some of the remaining structures severely damaged and unstable. Despite the severity of damage, with 3,500 buildings damaged, there were very few injuries or deaths reported; three persons suffered fatal shocks and another was crushed to death by a car in

Aix-les-Bains Aix-les-Bains (, ; frp, Èx-los-Bens; la, Aquae Gratianae), locally simply Aix, is a commune in the southeastern French department of Savoie.

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. Twenty-one rockfalls, one major, occurred. The earthquake also triggered 11 landslides, four avalanches, and a number of ground effects along the

Rhône The Rhône ( , ; wae, Rotten ; frp, Rôno ; oc, Ròse ) is a major river in France and Switzerland, rising in the Alps and flowing west and south through Lake Geneva and southeastern France before discharging into the Mediterranean Sea. At Ar ...

river valley. The landslides and rockfalls reportedly destroyed huts and barns near the mountainside. Damage was also reported in the district of

Vaud Vaud ( ; french: (Canton de) Vaud, ; german: (Kanton) Waadt, or ), more formally the canton of Vaud, is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of ten districts and its capital city is Lausanne. Its coat of arms b ...

in Villeneuve. In

Château-d'Œx Château-d'Œx () is a municipality in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland. It is in the district of Riviera-Pays-d'Enhaut. History Château-d'Œx is first mentioned in 1115 as ''Oit'', ''Oyz'', ''Oix'' and ''Oyez''. Prehistoric settlements Dur ...

, the quake knocked display items onto the ground at an art exhibition. The total damage is estimated at 5.265 million

Swiss franc The Swiss franc is the currency and legal tender of Switzerland and Liechtenstein. It is also legal tender in the Italian exclave of Campione d'Italia which is surrounded by Swiss territory. The Swiss National Bank (SNB) issues banknotes and the f ...

s in 1946, or 25.7 million in 2021.

Foreshocks and aftershocks

Three large aftershocks were recorded up till May 1946. The first two measured 5.2 and 5.1 on January 26 and February 4 were assigned maximum intensities VI to V. The largest occurred on May 30 with a magnitude of 5.9 and maximum intensity of VII. The aftershock on May 30 triggered 22 rockfalls and three landslides. Prior to the mainshock, two notable foreshocks occurred on November 10 and 13 with respective intensities V and IV on the Rossi-Forel scale.

References

{{Earthquakes in the 1940s 1946 earthquakes Earthquakes in Switzerland 1946 in Switzerland History of Valais Sierre Earthquakes in France Savoie Aix-les-Bains 1946 disasters in Switzerland

Earthquake

Foreshocks and aftershocks

See also

References