Province of Potenza

Earthquakes in Castelsaraceno

1.1
very light
LATEST QUAKE

4 km North-East of Castelluccio Inferiore

6 days ago · 19 Aug, 08:20
Depth 17 km

Seismic activity in the surroundings

30 km radius
5
days since the last quake nearby
1,586
quakes recorded since 2014
~3 days
on average, one quake every
4.1
The strongest within 30 km
2 km South-East of Tortora
120 months ago · 29 Oct, 13:58

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 = 0.258 g (10% probability of exceedance in 50 years, rigid soil).

Closest earthquake
Earthquake details
288
In the town
total on record
4
In the town
last 12 months
46
In the area
last 12 months
M3.3
Strongest ever
In the area

The “area” is Castelsaraceno plus nearby towns.

Last earthquake: 8 days ago · 1,480 inhabitants

The seismic history of Castelsaraceno

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

  1. 1999V16 January 1999

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

    Appennino lucano earthquake (M4.0), epicentre 17 km away

  2. 1998V9 September 1998

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

    Appennino lucano earthquake (M5.5), epicentre 12 km away

  3. 1995V29 May 1995

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

    Val d'Agri earthquake (M4.2), epicentre 13 km away

  4. 1991V5 May 1991

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

    Val d'Agri earthquake (M4.0), epicentre 5 km away

  5. 1990V5 May 1990

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

    Potentino earthquake (M5.8), epicentre 67 km away

  6. 1988VI8 January 1988

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

    Pollino earthquake (M4.7), epicentre 17 km away

  7. 1980V9 March 1980

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

    Pollino earthquake (M4.7), epicentre 18 km away

  8. 1934VI3 July 1934

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

    Castelsaraceno earthquake (M4.5), epicentre 8 km away

  9. 1932V3 December 1932

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

    Marsico Vetere earthquake (M4.2), epicentre 17 km away

  10. 1917VI13 October 1917

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

    Val d'Agri earthquake (M5.5), epicentre 8 km away

  11. 1857X16 December 1857

    Completely destructive: most buildings are destroyed.

    Basilicata earthquake (M7.1), epicentre 24 km away

  12. 1836VIII20 November 1836

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

    Appennino lucano earthquake (M5.9), epicentre 17 km away

…and 17 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.

18577.1
Basilicata earthquake
16 December 1857 · 24 km from here
XICatastrophic: very few buildings remain standing; landslides and ground cracks.
19775.9
Golfo di Policastro earthquake
30 December 1977 · 49 km from here
18365.9
Appennino lucano earthquake
20 November 1836 · 17 km from here
IXDestructive: many buildings partly or fully collapse.
18265.7
Potentino earthquake
1 February 1826 · 45 km from here
IXDestructive: many buildings partly or fully collapse.

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

The closest seismic structure

Rimendiello-Mormanno

The town lies about 5 km from Rimendiello-Mormanno, one of the seismic structures mapped by INGV geologists.

estimated maximum magnitude 6.6between 1 and 12 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 20264eventsmax 1.1
Oct
Jan '25
Apr
Jul
Oct
Jan '26
Apr
Jul

Earthquake map

60 events
Magnitude:lightweakmoderatestrong

Earthquakes in the area

1.1
6 days ago
19 Aug, 08:20
0.7
4 km North-West of Sarconi
12 km North-West · 10 km
8 days ago
17 Aug, 15:46
1.1
7 km West of Castelsaraceno
7 km West · 10 km
8 days ago
17 Aug, 13:23
1.0
7 km West of Castelsaraceno
7 km West · 10 km
8 days ago
17 Aug, 13:01
1.3
4 km West of Nemoli
19 km West · 10 km
26 days ago
30 Jul, 11:50
1.3
4 km North-East of Moliterno
12 km North-West · 9 km
1 month ago
18 Jul, 05:12
0.8
6 km North-West of Moliterno
17 km North-West · 10 km
1 month ago
17 Jul, 19:01
0.3
3 km North of Lagonegro
17 km West · 11 km
2 months ago
11 Jul, 02:10
1.2
4 km West of Grumento Nova
17 km North-West · 9 km
2 months ago
21 Jun, 06:17
0.9
4 km West of Grumento Nova
18 km North-West · 14 km
2 months ago
20 Jun, 14:21

Nearby towns

How does it compare with the surroundings?

Castelsaraceno 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 100% of the 100 towns in the province.
Castelsaraceno288
Nearby towns average61

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

Context

Province of Potenza26 events · 30gBasilicata region31 events · 30g
ISTAT code: 076025

Frequently asked questions

Were there earthquakes today in Castelsaraceno?

No, no quakes were recorded today in the Castelsaraceno area: the latest nearby dates back to 6 days ago.

Is Castelsaraceno a seismic area?

Castelsaraceno 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 Castelsaraceno?

In the last ~12 years of INGV data, the strongest within 30 km of Castelsaraceno was magnitude 4.1, in 2016.

When was the last quake near Castelsaraceno?

The last quake recorded within 30 km of Castelsaraceno was 6 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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