Province of Potenza

Earthquakes in Vietri di Potenza

1.3
very light
LATEST QUAKE

2 km South-East of Satriano di Lucania

6 days ago · 19 Aug, 19:27
Depth 11 km

Seismic activity in the surroundings

30 km radius
4
days since the last quake nearby
1,597
quakes recorded since 2014
~3 days
on average, one quake every
4.2
The strongest within 30 km
3 km East of Potenza
18 months ago · 18 Mar, 10:01

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 = 0.256 g (10% probability of exceedance in 50 years, rigid soil).

Closest earthquake
Earthquake details
69
In the town
total on record
3
In the town
last 12 months
68
In the area
last 12 months
M3.9
Strongest ever
In the area

The “area” is Vietri di Potenza plus nearby towns.

Last earthquake: 4 months ago · 2,917 inhabitants

The seismic history of Vietri di Potenza

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

  1. 2002V18 April 2002

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

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

  2. 1991V26 May 1991

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

    Potentino earthquake (M5.1), epicentre 26 km away

  3. 1990V5 May 1990

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

    Potentino earthquake (M5.8), epicentre 23 km away

  4. 1980VIII23 November 1980

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

    Irpinia-Basilicata earthquake (M6.8), epicentre 34 km away

  5. 1969V14 November 1969

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

    Potentino earthquake (M4.6), epicentre 5 km away

  6. 1923V8 November 1923

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

    Appennino campano-lucano earthquake (M4.7), epicentre 11 km away

  7. 1910VI7 June 1910

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

    Irpinia-Basilicata earthquake (M5.8), epicentre 34 km away

  8. 1893V-VI25 January 1893

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

    Vallo di Diano earthquake (M5.2), epicentre 18 km away

  9. 1857VIII16 December 1857

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

    Basilicata earthquake (M7.1), epicentre 39 km away

  10. 1694IX8 September 1694

    Destructive: many buildings partly or fully collapse.

    Irpinia-Basilicata earthquake (M6.7), epicentre 30 km away

  11. 1561IX-X19 August 1561

    Completely destructive: most buildings are destroyed.

    Vallo di Diano earthquake (M6.7), epicentre 5 km away

  12. 1561VIII-IX31 July 1561

    Destructive: many buildings partly or fully collapse.

    Vallo di Diano earthquake (M6.3), epicentre 13 km away

…and 19 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 · 39 km from here
XICatastrophic: very few buildings remain standing; landslides and ground cracks.
19806.8
Irpinia-Basilicata earthquake
23 November 1980 · 34 km from here
XCompletely destructive: most buildings are destroyed.
16946.7
Irpinia-Basilicata earthquake
8 September 1694 · 30 km from here
XCompletely destructive: most buildings are destroyed.
15616.7
Vallo di Diano earthquake
19 August 1561 · 5 km from here
X-XICatastrophic: very few buildings remain standing; landslides and ground cracks.

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 20265eventsmax 1.5
Oct
Jan '25
Apr
Jul
Oct
Jan '26
Apr
Jul

Earthquake map

60 events
Magnitude:lightweakmoderatestrong

Earthquakes in the area

1.3
6 days ago
19 Aug, 19:27
1.3
6 days ago
19 Aug, 19:27
1.5
4 km East of Ruoti
20 km East · 11 km
19 days ago
6 Aug, 04:51
0.8
7 km East of Sasso di Castalda
25 km South-East · 15 km
21 days ago
4 Aug, 17:46
1.2
4 km West of Ruoti
15 km North-East · 10 km
23 days ago
2 Aug, 19:47
0.6
1 km South of Satriano di Lucania
12 km South-East · 9 km
25 days ago
31 Jul, 19:29
1.5
1 km North-East of Buccino
15 km West · 14 km
1 month ago
17 Jul, 04:00
1.1
7 km East of Picerno
16 km East · 10 km
2 months ago
10 Jul, 03:42
1.2
4 km North-East of Picerno
14 km North-East · 4 km
2 months ago
9 Jul, 19:30
1.9
1 km North-West of Pertosa
10 km South-West · 14 km
2 months ago
6 Jul, 08:55

Nearby towns

How does it compare with the surroundings?

Vietri di Potenza 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 90% of the 100 towns in the province.
Vietri di Potenza69
Nearby towns average57

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: 076096

Frequently asked questions

Were there earthquakes today in Vietri di Potenza?

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

Is Vietri di Potenza a seismic area?

Vietri di Potenza 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 Vietri di Potenza?

In the last ~12 years of INGV data, the strongest within 30 km of Vietri di Potenza was magnitude 4.2, in 2025.

When was the last quake near Vietri di Potenza?

The last quake recorded within 30 km of Vietri di Potenza was 4 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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