Province of Potenza

Earthquakes in Sarconi

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
6
days since the last quake nearby
1,613
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 = 0.262 g (10% probability of exceedance in 50 years, rigid soil).

Closest earthquake
Earthquake details
108
In the town
total on record
6
In the town
last 12 months
65
In the area
last 12 months
M3.3
Strongest ever
In the area

The “area” is Sarconi plus nearby towns.

Last earthquake: 8 days ago · 1,362 inhabitants

The seismic history of Sarconi

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

  1. 1996V-VI5 June 1996

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

    Val d'Agri earthquake (M3.3), epicentre 6 km away

  2. 1995IV-V29 May 1995

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

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

  3. 1991V-VI26 May 1991

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

    Potentino earthquake (M5.1), epicentre 52 km away

  4. 1991VI5 May 1991

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

    Val d'Agri earthquake (M4.0), epicentre 4 km away

  5. 1990VI28 August 1990

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

    Potentino earthquake (M4.2), epicentre 56 km away

  6. 1990VI5 May 1990

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

    Potentino earthquake (M5.8), epicentre 59 km away

  7. 1989IV-V29 May 1989

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

    Appennino lucano earthquake (M4.3), epicentre 38 km away

  8. 1980V14 May 1980

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

    Alta Val d'Agri earthquake (M4.8), epicentre 20 km away

  9. 1894V28 May 1894

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

    Pollino earthquake (M5.0), epicentre 28 km away

  10. 1857X16 December 1857

    Completely destructive: most buildings are destroyed.

    Basilicata earthquake (M7.1), epicentre 15 km away

  11. 1807V11 November 1807

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

    Val d'Agri earthquake (M4.9), epicentre 10 km away

  12. 1694VII8 September 1694

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

    Irpinia-Basilicata earthquake (M6.7), epicentre 83 km away

…and 9 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 · 15 km from here
XICatastrophic: very few buildings remain standing; landslides and ground cracks.
19775.9
Golfo di Policastro earthquake
30 December 1977 · 48 km from here
18365.9
Appennino lucano earthquake
20 November 1836 · 15 km from here
IXDestructive: many buildings partly or fully collapse.
12735.8
Potenza earthquake
18 December 1273 · 47 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 lies about 3 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

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

Sarconi 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 94% of the 100 towns in the province.
Sarconi108
Nearby towns average78

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: 076081

Frequently asked questions

Were there earthquakes today in Sarconi?

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

Is Sarconi a seismic area?

Sarconi 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 Sarconi?

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

When was the last quake near Sarconi?

The last quake recorded within 30 km of Sarconi 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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