September 3, 1978 Earthquake: Germany
A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck Germany on September 3, 1978 at 05:08:30 UTC, 8 km below the surface.
Map
Where it struck, with the other significant earthquakes within 200 km. Circles are sized and colored by magnitude; select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Date
- September 3, 1978
- Time
- 05:08:30 UTC
- Place
- Germany
- Magnitude
- 5.3 (Ms)
- Focal depth
- 8 km (5 mi)
- Intensity
- 8 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 48.290° N, 9.010° E
- Country
- Germany
The toll
- Injuries
- Many (about 101 to 1,000)
- Damage
- $150 million
Where the literature gives no number, NCEI records a description on a scale of 1 to 4, printed here in its words. Damage is in millions of US dollars of the year of the event, not adjusted for inflation.
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- June 10, 1510, Nordlingen, Bavaria, Germany
- October 18, 1356, Basel, Switzerland
- December 22, 1689, Augsburg, Innsbruck, Germany, Austria
- September 18, 1601, Switzerland
- March 22, 2003, Albstadt, Germany
- December 5, 2004, Emmendingen, Freiburg Im Breisgau, Germany
- November 25, 1289, Strasbourg, France
- December 20, 1720, Switzerland
- December 8, 2006, Basel, Switzerland
- May 12, 1021, Switzerland
- November 24, 1346, Switzerland
- September 14, 1454, Switzerland
- September 15, 1454, Switzerland
- November 29, 1610, Switzerland
- September 10, 1774, Switzerland
More
Significant earthquakes of 1978The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1978Recent earthquakes near hereThis day in weather history
Sources
Significant earthquakes from NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information, Global Historical Hazard Database, cited as NCEI/WDS, doi:10.7289/V5PN93H7. Public domain. Read 2026-09-24. NCEI earthquake 4814.