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Two earthquakes shake Elchingen: Rare natural event near Ulm!
Two weak earthquakes (magnitude 1.6 and 1.5) occurred near Ulm during the night. Tremors were barely noticeable.
Two earthquakes shake Elchingen: Rare natural event near Ulm!
On the night of Monday, October 27, 2025, the residents of the Ulm region were surprised by two earthquakes. Both quakes took place near Elchingen in the Neu-Ulm district, Bavaria, and were very weak with magnitudes of 1.6 and 1.5 Swabian reported. These earthquakes occurred at 2:46 a.m. and 3:20 a.m. and were recorded at a depth of about 23 kilometers.
As the Southwest Seismological Service reports, the calculated intensities of the tremors were below the perceptible limit, so there were no noticeable tremors. In some affected cities such as Nersingen and Neu-Ulm, an intensity of a maximum of 0.8 was recorded, but the tremors were not noticeable there either. What is particularly noteworthy is that earthquakes are very rare in the region around Ulm. The last comparable incident occurred in 2020 near Pfaffenhofen with a magnitude of 1.8.
Affected areas and intensities
The earthquakes not only affected the immediate area, but also affected a number of towns in the surrounding area. Here is an overview of the affected locations and their intensities:
| Location | intensity | Resident | Distance to epicenter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nersingen | 0.8 | 9200 | 4.3km |
| New Ulm | 0.8 | 51400 | 8.6km |
| Weidenstetten | 0.6 | 1200 | 12.5km |
| Bubesheim | 0.6 | 1400 | 12.7km |
| At the first place | 0.6 | 2500 | 7.9km |
| Send | 0.6 | 22300 | 14.8km |
| Bernstadt | 0.6 | 2000 | 6.4km |
| Rieden an der Kötz | 0.5 | 3200 | 15.2km |
| Ulm | 0.4 | 120500 | 9.1km |
| Westerstetten | 0.4 | 2200 | 11.7km |
Earthquakes in the region are in fact a rather rare phenomenon. On average, around 371 small earthquakes are recorded in the surrounding area every year. Since the beginning of the year, 123 earthquakes with a magnitude of up to 2.5 have been recorded within a radius of 100 kilometers around Ulm. The strongest quake took place 20 kilometers from Konstanz at the beginning of September.
Security and risk assessment
Despite the events, the Federal Office for Civil Protection and Civil Protection has classified the probability of strong earthquakes in Germany as low to medium. However, there are some risk areas in Germany, including the Bay of Cologne, the Swabian Alb, the southern Rhine valley and the area around Gera in Thuringia.
So the question remains: Is increased vigilance necessary in the region or can residents sleep in peace? A look at the statistics says: time will tell!