Province of Pescara

Earthquakes in Popoli

1.7
very light
LATEST QUAKE

3 km South-West of Capestrano

17 days ago · 8 Aug, 07:44
Depth 11 km

Seismic activity in the surroundings

30 km radius
9
days since the last quake nearby
1,107
quakes recorded since 2014
~4 days
on average, one quake every
3.2
The strongest within 30 km
5 km West of Cocullo
55 months ago · 26 Feb, 09:46

INGV catalogue epicentres of the last ~12 years, within the given radius from the town centre.

How seismic is this area?

Zone1
Seismic zone 1

The most severe class: strong earthquakes are possible here and buildings follow the strictest anti-seismic rules.

Official Civil Protection classification (upd. 2025), used for building codes.

High
Expected shaking, compared with the other Italian municipalities (INGV MPS04 model)

Hazard describes the long-term expected shaking: it is not a forecast. Technical value: ag = 0.254 g (10% probability of exceedance in 50 years, rigid soil).

Closest earthquake
Earthquake details
4
In the town
total on record
0
In the town
last 12 months
11
In the area
last 12 months
M2.9
Strongest ever
In the area

The “area” is Popoli plus nearby towns.

Last earthquake: 41 months ago · 5,450 inhabitants

The seismic history of Popoli

The earthquakes that were actually felt in Popoli over the centuries, with the intensity observed on site (Mercalli MCS scale).

  1. 2009VI6 April 2009

    Strong: felt by everyone, many get scared; objects fall, first light damage to buildings.

    Aquilano earthquake (M6.3), epicentre 32 km away

  2. 1984VI11 May 1984

    Strong: felt by everyone, many get scared; objects fall, first light damage to buildings.

    Monti della Meta earthquake (M5.5), epicentre 57 km away

  3. 1984VI7 May 1984

    Strong: felt by everyone, many get scared; objects fall, first light damage to buildings.

    Monti della Meta earthquake (M5.9), epicentre 58 km away

  4. 1980V9 June 1980

    Rather strong: felt by almost everyone; hanging objects swing.

    Aquilano earthquake (M4.6), epicentre 11 km away

  5. 1979V19 September 1979

    Rather strong: felt by almost everyone; hanging objects swing.

    Valnerina earthquake (M5.8), epicentre 96 km away

  6. 1950V-VI5 September 1950

    Strong: felt by everyone, many get scared; objects fall, first light damage to buildings.

    Gran Sasso earthquake (M5.7), epicentre 53 km away

  7. 1933VI-VII26 September 1933

    Very strong: hard to stand; chimneys and roof tiles fall, serious damage to weaker buildings.

    Maiella earthquake (M5.9), epicentre 23 km away

  8. 1925V24 September 1925

    Rather strong: felt by almost everyone; hanging objects swing.

    Molise occidentale earthquake (M5.3), epicentre 57 km away

  9. 1922V29 December 1922

    Rather strong: felt by almost everyone; hanging objects swing.

    Val Roveto earthquake (M5.2), epicentre 45 km away

  10. 1917V8 July 1917

    Rather strong: felt by almost everyone; hanging objects swing.

    Appennino laziale-abruzzese earthquake (M4.7), epicentre 63 km away

  11. 1915VIII13 January 1915

    Ruinous: partial collapses in ordinary buildings, widespread heavy damage.

    Marsica earthquake (M7.1), epicentre 31 km away

  12. 1706VIII-IX3 November 1706

    Destructive: many buildings partly or fully collapse.

    Maiella earthquake (M6.8), epicentre 22 km away

…and 29 more documented effects in this town's history.

Source: Italian Macroseismic Database DBMI15 (INGV, CC BY 4.0).

The great earthquakes in this area's history

Almost a thousand years of catalogues: the strongest documented events within ~50 km.

19157.1
Marsica earthquake
13 January 1915 · 31 km from here
XICatastrophic: very few buildings remain standing; landslides and ground cracks.
17066.8
Maiella earthquake
3 November 1706 · 22 km from here
X-XICatastrophic: very few buildings remain standing; landslides and ground cracks.
14616.5
Aquilano earthquake
27 November 1461 · 30 km from here
XCompletely destructive: most buildings are destroyed.
20096.3
Aquilano earthquake
6 April 2009 · 32 km from here
IX-XCompletely destructive: most buildings are destroyed.

Source: Parametric Catalogue of Italian Earthquakes CPTI15 (INGV, CC BY 4.0).

The closest seismic structure

Barisciano-Sulmona

The town sits above this source area: the deep structure where this area's earthquakes can originate.

estimated maximum magnitude 7.0between 1 and 14 km deep

Faults are mapped to build better and understand the territory: knowing them says nothing about when an earthquake will occur, which remains unpredictable. Source: DISS 3.3 (INGV, CC BY 4.0).

Area over time

August 20261eventmax 1.7
Oct
Jan '25
Apr
Jul
Oct
Jan '26
Apr
Jul

Earthquake map

60 events
Magnitude:lightweakmoderatestrong

Earthquakes in the area

1.7
3 km South-West of Capestrano
10 km North-West · 11 km
17 days ago
8 Aug, 07:44
1.8
4 km East of Pratola Peligna
12 km South-East · 11 km
2 months ago
3 Jul, 12:34
1.4
4 km East of Pratola Peligna
12 km South-East · 10 km
2 months ago
2 Jul, 22:23
1.2
3 months ago
30 May, 21:55
0.9
2 km North-East of Raiano
6 km South-West · 19 km
3 months ago
27 May, 14:37
1.7
1 km North of Corfinio
2 km South-East · 40 km
4 months ago
4 May, 07:07
1.0
6 months ago
13 Mar, 18:06
2.5
3 km South-West of Prezza
15 km South · 8 km
7 months ago
22 Jan, 00:59
1.2
2 km South-West of Goriano Sicoli
13 km South-West · 8 km
9 months ago
21 Nov, 12:42
1.3
1 km West of Corvara
13 km North · 21 km
10 months ago
18 Oct, 02:24

Nearby towns

How does it compare with the surroundings?

Popoli sits in one of the most seismically active areas of its province: quakes are a familiar presence here, almost always light.

quietermore active
More epicentres than 89% of the 46 towns in the province.
Popoli4
Nearby towns average8.2

Each quake is attributed to the town closest to its epicentre: the numbers describe the area, not the municipal territory alone.

Context

Province of Pescara1 events · 30gAbruzzo region76 events · 30g
ISTAT code: 068033

Frequently asked questions

Were there earthquakes today in Popoli?

No, no quakes were recorded today in the Popoli area: the latest nearby dates back to 17 days ago.

Is Popoli a seismic area?

Popoli is classified in seismic zone 1 by the Civil Protection. The most severe class: strong earthquakes are possible here and buildings follow the strictest anti-seismic rules.

What was the strongest earthquake near Popoli?

In the last ~12 years of INGV data, the strongest within 30 km of Popoli was magnitude 3.2, in 2022.

When was the last quake near Popoli?

The last quake recorded within 30 km of Popoli was 9 days ago.

Tip. Click a nearby town to explore its seismicity.

Data: INGV — National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (CC-BY 4.0)

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