Province of Potenza

Earthquakes in Lauria

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
Today
days since the last quake nearby
1,866
quakes recorded since 2014
~2 days
on average, one quake every
5.4
The strongest within 30 km
9 km West of San Nicola Arcella
46 months ago · 31 Oct, 22:42

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 = 0.261 g (10% probability of exceedance in 50 years, rigid soil).

Closest earthquake
Earthquake details
85
In the town
total on record
1
In the town
last 12 months
72
In the area
last 12 months
M4.1
Strongest ever
In the area

The “area” is Lauria plus nearby towns.

Last earthquake: 12 months ago · 13,262 inhabitants

The seismic history of Lauria

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

  1. 1999V14 March 1999

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

    Appennino lucano earthquake (M3.7), epicentre 9 km away

  2. 1999V-VI16 January 1999

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

    Appennino lucano earthquake (M4.0), epicentre 5 km away

  3. 1998V8 November 1998

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

    Appennino lucano earthquake (M3.8), epicentre 5 km away

  4. 1998VI9 September 1998

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

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

  5. 1988VI-VII8 January 1988

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

    Pollino earthquake (M4.7), epicentre 8 km away · observed at Lauria Inferiore

  6. 1988VI-VII8 January 1988

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

    Pollino earthquake (M4.7), epicentre 8 km away

  7. 1982VII21 March 1982

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

    Golfo di Policastro earthquake (M5.2), epicentre 29 km away

  8. 1968V22 March 1968

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

    Basilicata meridionale earthquake (M4.2), epicentre 3 km away

  9. 1930V23 July 1930

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

    Irpinia earthquake (M6.7), epicentre 121 km away

  10. 1857VIII16 December 1857

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

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

  11. 1836VIII20 November 1836

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

    Appennino lucano earthquake (M5.9), epicentre 13 km away

  12. 1831VIII2 January 1831

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

    Appennino lucano earthquake (M5.5), epicentre 10 km away

…and 25 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 · 31 km from here
XICatastrophic: very few buildings remain standing; landslides and ground cracks.
19775.9
Golfo di Policastro earthquake
30 December 1977 · 40 km from here
18365.9
Appennino lucano earthquake
20 November 1836 · 13 km from here
IXDestructive: many buildings partly or fully collapse.
17085.6
Pollino earthquake
26 January 1708 · 24 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

Rimendiello-Mormanno

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

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 20265eventsmax 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
20 km North · 10 km
8 days ago
17 Aug, 15:46
1.1
7 km West of Castelsaraceno
9 km North · 10 km
8 days ago
17 Aug, 13:23
1.0
7 km West of Castelsaraceno
10 km North · 10 km
8 days ago
17 Aug, 13:01
0.9
4 km South-West of Viggianello
22 km South-East · 10 km
14 days ago
11 Aug, 01:53
1.5
4 km North-East of Rivello
12 km West · 11 km
26 days ago
30 Jul, 11:56
1.3
4 km West of Nemoli
11 km West · 10 km
26 days ago
30 Jul, 11:50
1.3
4 km North-East of Moliterno
19 km North · 9 km
1 month ago
18 Jul, 05:12
0.8
6 km North-West of Moliterno
22 km North-West · 10 km
1 month ago
17 Jul, 19:01
0.3
3 km North of Lagonegro
16 km North-West · 11 km
2 months ago
11 Jul, 02:10

Nearby towns

How does it compare with the surroundings?

Lauria 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 93% of the 100 towns in the province.
Lauria85
Nearby towns average91

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: 076042

Frequently asked questions

Were there earthquakes today in Lauria?

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

Is Lauria a seismic area?

Lauria 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 Lauria?

In the last ~12 years of INGV data, the strongest within 30 km of Lauria was magnitude 5.4, in 2022.

When was the last quake near Lauria?

The last quake recorded within 30 km of Lauria was 39 minutes 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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