The unified seismological catalogue of the East Baltic region has been compiled. It provides an important base for the further seismic hazard assessment of the region. It is essentially required in view of the prospects of establishing new nuclear power plants in the region (Kaliningrad District, Belarus, East Lithuania). The catalogue covers the time period since 1375. The catalogue unravelled quite an uneven distribution of seismic events both in the latter and the temporal terms. The periods of seismic activity, like the one in 1908–1909, are followed by periods of seismic quiescence (e. g., 1912–1972). It is rather difficult to explain such a variability of seismic activity. The latter differentiation of seismic activity may be explained by a different degree of faulting of the earth’s crust in the Baltic sedimentary basin, as well as by the residual glacioisostatic processes. The earthquake catalogue shows that only strong earthquakes were registered in the region until 1844. Since that year, the reporting has become much more precise. However, using Stepp’s method allowed to assess the catalogue as complete since 1780. Some oldest reports of earthquakes in Prussia (1303) and Lithuania (1328) should be still discussed in detail to identify the consistency of these annals.
Keywords: Baltic, earthquake catalogue, seismic activity, fault
