Institute of Seismology monitors the seismicity of Finland and adjacent areas using an observation station network. In addition, the institute receives earthquake announcements from people for research. You may familiarize yourself with the recent observations in our map service. The map shows not only earthquakes but also other seismic events, explosions in particular.
Have you observed a Finnish earthquakes or been in the area of perceptibility of a Finnish earthquake? You can help us by filling a macroseismic questionnaire. You may fill it even if you are not sure whether the event you observed was an earthquake. Institute of Seismology reviews all observations and announces Finnish earthquakes at its website within approximately three business days.
The institute gathers information on how broad is the area and in what ways are different-sized earthquakes observed or sensed. The aim is that after an earthquake, as many persons as possible fill the questionnaire.
Observations are gathered for non-commercial purposes. Information is not delivered to any third party.
Tens of thousands of seismic events are registed in Finland yearly. Most of them are human-induced, for example explosions in mines, quarries and construction sites, as well as earthquakes and collapses that have taken place in mines. Roughly 50 natural earthquakes are observed in one year. In recent years, the number has increased, particularly due to earthquake swarms in southeastern Finland.
Institute of Seismology, University of Helsinki, maintains over 30 permanent and temporary seismic stations in Finland. For the analysis of seismic events, registrations of seismic stations of the University of Oulu and those of neighbouring countries are used as well. Since 2016, the institute has also had a temporary research network consisting of five stations in Helsinki and Espoo. In years 2019-2020, the institute installed city-funded seismic stations to Lauttasaari, Vuosaari, and Kuninkaantammi in Helsinki. The network was extended with a station in Ruskeasuo in 2021. In other parts of Uusimaa, permanent seismic stations are situated in Kirkkonummi, Nurmijärvi, Hanko, and Loviisa.
The Helsinki region is seismically quiet even by Finnish standards. Explosions take place daily as a consequence of construction activity but they are seismically quiet. Their sound and tremor are observed in the vicinity of the site. Human-induced earthquakes have been also observed during the last years.
Natural seismicity in the Helsinki region is rare, but two earthquakes were observed in Hakunila, Vantaa, in 2020. The first one took place on the July 22th, and was 0.8 by magnitude. The second one took place on December the 12th, and was 0.7 by magnitude. In 2013, two earthquakes occurred in Laajalahti, Espoo. The greater of them was of magnitude 1.7 and was largely felt in Helsinki, and Espoo. The 2.6-magnitude earthquake that took place in Mäntsälä on the March 19th, 2011, was also felt in the Helsinki region.
NB! Uncertainty in the localization of earthquakes ranges from a few hundred metres to two kilometers. A seismic event can be a natural earthquake, or an event caused by human activity, e.g. an explosion or an induced earthquake.