Tag Archives: environment

Tribune de Genève. According to Tribune de Genève, at 16:44 yesterday, an earthquake measuring 4.2 on the Richter scale, shook Valais. The quake’s centre was 6km north of the town of Sierre at a depth of 8.3 kilometres. The quake, which lasted several seconds was felt throughout central Valais, a canton known for famous resorts such as Zermatt, Verbier and Crans-Montana. © Ermess | Dreamstime.com Local police received several calls from concerned residents, particularly in the region of...

According to reinsurer, Swiss Re, over three quarters of private buildings in Switzerland have no earthquake coverage. Because earthquakes are rare and are quickly forgotten, public risk perception is low. Even Switzerland, with its well developed insurance culture is no exception. Earthquake in Abruzzo Italy – © Walter Graneri | Dreamstime.com Swiss Re describes Switzerland as a country with a medium seismic hazard. The strongest and most destructive earthquake recorded in Switzerland...

24 Heures. After the tragic earthquake in Italy, some are wondering if something similar could happen in Switzerland. Speaking to the newspaper 24 Heures, geologist Raphaël Mayoraz, says “People tend to forget, but our country has already experienced earthquakes of 6 or more.” © Cristian Andriana | Dreamstime.com The Swiss Seismological Service (SED) at ETH Zurich completed ten years of earthquake research in 2015. Their new model shows that earthquakes are a serious hazard for Switzerland...

Last year the Swiss government decided to increase the fees train operators, including Swiss Rail, must pay to run their trains on Switzerland’s rail network. © Hai Huy Ton That | Dreamstime.com Switzerland has 4,641 km of track running as high as 3,454 metres, and one of the densest rail networks in the world. Maintaining all of this track costs a lot of money, and some of it comes from train operators, that pay to use certain sections of track at specified times. The system works in much...

Depending on who’s talking, the climate change agreement reached at the 2015 Paris Climate Conference in mid-December is either a watershed moment in environmental history or just another toothless framework. It’s certainly true that the political will of current and future national governments will play a large role in how much greenhouse gas emissions fall in the next two decades – and how much the global temperature rises as a result. Still, Credit Suisse says the deal’s very existence...