6 km NW Escalaplano (CA)
A very light earthquake, probably not felt by people. At only a few km deep the shaking is felt more sharply at the surface.
Where
6 km NW Escalaplano (CA)Earthquakes in the province of CagliariEarthquakes in SardegnaEpicentre at sea
The epicentre is at sea: for the same magnitude, the shaking is felt less on land, because the energy fades along the way before reaching the coast.
How far away could it be felt?
A quake this small is usually not felt by people: only seismographs record it.
Statistical estimate from the Italian intensity attenuation model (INGV): actual perception depends on geology, buildings and depth. Very shallow events can be felt locally even below the threshold.
Earthquake map
8 eventsThe energy released
How much energy this quake unleashed, translated into everyday comparisons.
Each extra magnitude unit releases about 32 times more energy: an M5 is not "a bit stronger" than an M4 — it is a different league.
Energy estimated with the standard Gutenberg–Richter relation; an average lightning bolt ≈ 1 billion joules. Indicative values.
The race of the seismic waves
Two waves set off from the hypocentre: the faster P wave arrives first with a sharp jolt; the S wave carries the actual shaking.
Animation sped up ~8× compared to reality.
- Quartu Sant'Elena51 km from the epicentrefirst tremor in ~9 smain shaking in ~15 s
- Cagliari54 km from the epicentrefirst tremor in ~9 smain shaking in ~15 s
- Olbia139 km from the epicentrefirst tremor in ~23 smain shaking in ~40 s
- Sassari144 km from the epicentrefirst tremor in ~24 smain shaking in ~41 s
Theoretical times with average crustal speeds: real values vary with geology. The gap between P and S waves is what earthquake early-warning systems rely on.
How deep it was born
At only a few km deep the shaking is felt more sharply at the surface.
in line with the area average (~2 km)
For the same magnitude, a shallow earthquake is felt much more than a deep one: the energy starts closer to the surface.
What kind of quake is this?
In the 30 days around this event no other quakes were recorded within 30 km: a one-off episode, very common in Italy.
How often does it happen here?
It is the first magnitude ≥ 2 earthquake recorded within 50 km since 2014, the start of our archive.
An average computed on the recent past: it tells how used this area is to shaking, not when the next quake will come — earthquakes cannot be predicted.
The closest seismic structure
The epicentre lies about 141 km from Northern Africa offshore - East, one of the seismic structures mapped by INGV geologists.
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).
Other quakes in the area
Data: INGV — National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (CC-BY 4.0)
Estimates computed by Meteare on INGV data (Gutenberg–Richter relation; Italian macroseismic intensity attenuation model).