Earthquake shakes Rhine-Main region overnight

The tremor occurred at 12:42 am and was measured at 3.7 on the Richter scale by the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) in Potsdam.

The state geology authority for Rhineland-Palatinate registered the quake at 3.4 on the Richter scale.

The epicentre was reportedly northwest of the Frankfurt Airport some six kilometres under the earth’s surface, head of the state authority Friedrich Häfner said.

Such earthquakes are not unusual in the region and are therefore “no cause for worry,” he said.

While police and fire departments reported receiving many phone calls about the tremor, they conducted no related rescue operations, and no damages were reported.

Most of the calls came from near the epicentre in western districts of Frankfurt, they reported.