The Zentralanstalt für Meteorologie und Geodynamik recorded a Magnitude 4.2 Earthquake at a depth of 14 km, close to the town of Mitterndorf an der Fischa in Baden District in eastern Austria, roughly 26 km south of Vienna, slightly after 7.15 pm local time (slightly after 5.15 GMT) on Wednesday 2 October 2013. This was followed by a Magnitude 2.9 aftershock slightly after 9.40 pm local time, and a second, Magnitude 1.9 aftershock slightly before 2.20 am. These are not large events, and did not lead to any damage or casualties, but were felt locally.
The approximate location of the 2 October 2013 Mittendorf an der Fischa Earthquake. Google Maps.
Baden District is located on the eastern fringe of the Alps, which are not static structures, but are a growing range of mountains being forced upwards by the impact of Africa into Europe, which is forcing the Adriatic Plate, underlying western Italy and the eastern Balkan Peninsula, further into the Eurasian Plate, causing folding and uplift in the rocks of central Europe. This movement is not smooth and continuous, but bumpy and jerky, as the rocks stick to one another while pressure builds up, then release suddenly causing quakes.
See also Magnitude 4.6 Earthquake in western Romania, Magnitude 4.5 Earthquake off the Adriatic Coast of Italy, Magnitude 3.9 Earthquake in Tuscany, Magnitude 3.7 Earthquake in the Tyrol, Austria and Earthquake in northern Italy.
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