Province of Potenza

Earthquakes in Grumento Nova

0.7
very light
LATEST QUAKE

4 km North-West of Sarconi

8 days ago · 17 Aug, 15:46
Depth 10 km

Seismic activity in the surroundings

30 km radius
7
days since the last quake nearby
1,661
quakes recorded since 2014
~3 days
on average, one quake every
3.8
The strongest within 30 km
5 km South-East of Padula
107 months ago · 27 Oct, 00:38

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 = 0.260 g (10% probability of exceedance in 50 years, rigid soil).

Closest earthquake
Earthquake details
78
In the town
total on record
6
In the town
last 12 months
65
In the area
last 12 months
M3.8
Strongest ever
In the area

The “area” is Grumento Nova plus nearby towns.

Last earthquake: 2 months ago · 1,704 inhabitants

The seismic history of Grumento Nova

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

  1. 1996IV-V5 June 1996

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

    Val d'Agri earthquake (M3.3), epicentre 2 km away

  2. 1995IV29 May 1995

    Moderate: felt by many indoors; glasses and dishes rattle.

    Val d'Agri earthquake (M4.2), epicentre 14 km away

  3. 1991V26 May 1991

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

    Potentino earthquake (M5.1), epicentre 44 km away

  4. 1991V-VI5 May 1991

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

    Val d'Agri earthquake (M4.0), epicentre 12 km away

  5. 1990V-VI5 May 1990

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

    Potentino earthquake (M5.8), epicentre 51 km away

  6. 1989IV29 May 1989

    Moderate: felt by many indoors; glasses and dishes rattle.

    Appennino lucano earthquake (M4.3), epicentre 30 km away

  7. 1982V21 March 1982

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

    Golfo di Policastro earthquake (M5.2), epicentre 52 km away

  8. 1980VI23 November 1980

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

    Irpinia-Basilicata earthquake (M6.8), epicentre 79 km away

  9. 1932V3 December 1932

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

    Marsico Vetere earthquake (M4.2), epicentre 3 km away

  10. 1910V7 June 1910

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

    Irpinia-Basilicata earthquake (M5.8), epicentre 78 km away

  11. 1857XI16 December 1857

    Catastrophic: very few buildings remain standing; landslides and ground cracks.

    Basilicata earthquake (M7.1), epicentre 7 km away

  12. 1807VI-VII11 November 1807

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

    Val d'Agri earthquake (M4.9), epicentre 4 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 · 7 km from here
XICatastrophic: very few buildings remain standing; landslides and ground cracks.
15616.7
Vallo di Diano earthquake
19 August 1561 · 44 km from here
X-XICatastrophic: very few buildings remain standing; landslides and ground cracks.
18365.9
Appennino lucano earthquake
20 November 1836 · 19 km from here
IXDestructive: many buildings partly or fully collapse.
12735.8
Potenza earthquake
18 December 1273 · 39 km from here
VIII-IXDestructive: many buildings partly or fully collapse.

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

The closest seismic structure

Irpinia-Agri Valley

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

estimated maximum magnitude 6.8between 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 20264eventsmax 1.1
Oct
Jan '25
Apr
Jul
Oct
Jan '26
Apr
Jul

Earthquake map

60 events
Magnitude:lightweakmoderatestrong

Earthquakes in the area

0.7
4 km North-West of Sarconi
4 km South · 10 km
8 days ago
17 Aug, 15:46
1.1
7 km West of Castelsaraceno
16 km South · 10 km
8 days ago
17 Aug, 13:23
1.0
7 km West of Castelsaraceno
15 km South · 10 km
8 days ago
17 Aug, 13:01
0.9
2 km North-West of Paterno
17 km North-West · 18 km
10 days ago
15 Aug, 20:31
1.3
4 km West of Nemoli
24 km South-West · 10 km
26 days ago
30 Jul, 11:50
1.2
1 km West of Paterno
15 km North-West · 10 km
1 month ago
25 Jul, 12:40
1.3
1 km West of Paterno
15 km North-West · 9 km
1 month ago
25 Jul, 12:36
2.0
1 km West of Paterno
15 km North-West · 9 km
1 month ago
25 Jul, 12:24
1.8
3 km East of Tramutola
7 km West · 36 km
1 month ago
24 Jul, 08:09
1.1
1 month ago
22 Jul, 07:58

Nearby towns

How does it compare with the surroundings?

Grumento Nova 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 91% of the 100 towns in the province.
Grumento Nova78
Nearby towns average74

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: 076037

Frequently asked questions

Were there earthquakes today in Grumento Nova?

No, no quakes were recorded today in the Grumento Nova area: the latest nearby dates back to 8 days ago.

Is Grumento Nova a seismic area?

Grumento Nova 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 Grumento Nova?

In the last ~12 years of INGV data, the strongest within 30 km of Grumento Nova was magnitude 3.8, in 2017.

When was the last quake near Grumento Nova?

The last quake recorded within 30 km of Grumento Nova was 8 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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