All earthquakes
1.5
very light
EARTHQUAKE DETAILS

7 km South-East of Acri

19 months ago · 2 Feb, 22:30

A very light earthquake, probably not felt by people. At this depth the shaking is felt, but rarely causes damage.

Stronger than 68% of Italian events in the past year

Where

7 km South-East of AcriEarthquakes in the province of CosenzaEarthquakes in Calabria

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

39 events
Magnitude:lightweakmoderatestrong

The energy released

How much energy this quake unleashed, translated into everyday comparisons.

2.7kgof TNT equivalent
Less than the energy of a lightning bolt
M3
A magnitude 3 earthquake releases ×178 its energy
M1this quakeM3

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.

P waves — the first sharp jolt (~6 km/s)S waves — the strongest shaking (~3.5 km/s)
t ≈ 18 s

Animation sped up ~3× compared to reality.

  • Corigliano-Rossano
    21 km from the epicentre
    first tremor in ~5 s
    main shaking in ~8 s
  • Cosenza
    25 km from the epicentre
    first tremor in ~5 s
    main shaking in ~9 s
  • Lamezia Terme
    55 km from the epicentre
    first tremor in ~10 s
    main shaking in ~17 s
  • Catanzaro
    61 km from the epicentre
    first tremor in ~11 s
    main shaking in ~18 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

17 km
medium depth
1.9 times the height of Mount Everest

At this depth the shaking is felt, but rarely causes damage.

in line with the area average (~18 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?

Aftershock

It is an aftershock: it follows a stronger quake (M2.0, 20 months ago) in the same area. Aftershocks are normal after an earthquake and tend to fade over time.

2.0
The mainshock
4 km North-East of Rose
20 months ago · 5 Jan, 16:18
Activity in the area right now (30 km radius)
3
last 24 hours
4
last 7 days
19
last 30 days
18 before20 after
this quake
Strongest of the sequence2.0

How often does it happen here?

about every ~8 days

Within 50 km of this epicentre, a magnitude ≥ 2 earthquake has occurred on average this often: 562 events in the last 12 years of the INGV catalogue.

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 great earthquakes in this area's history

Almost a thousand years of catalogues: the strongest documented events within ~50 km.

16387.1
Calabria centrale earthquake
27 March 1638 · 46 km from here
XICatastrophic: very few buildings remain standing; landslides and ground cracks.
16386.8
Crotonese earthquake
8 June 1638 · 34 km from here
XCompletely destructive: most buildings are destroyed.
11846.8
Valle del Crati earthquake
24 May 1184 · 25 km from here
IXDestructive: many buildings partly or fully collapse.
18546.3
Cosentino earthquake
12 February 1854 · 25 km from here
XCompletely destructive: most buildings are destroyed.

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

The closest seismic structure

Cecita Lake

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

estimated maximum magnitude 7.1between 1 and 15 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).

Other quakes in the area

1.0
6 km East of Aprigliano
24 km South · 11 km
19 months ago
3 Feb, 18:10
0.9
4 km South-West of Celico
13 km South-West · 11 km
19 months ago
31 Jan, 15:53
0.6
5 km South-West of Acri
6 km West · 13 km
19 months ago
29 Jan, 21:39
0.9
4 km South of Pietrapaola
29 km East · 28 km
19 months ago
29 Jan, 06:23
1.3
19 months ago
8 Feb, 13:05
1.4
19 months ago
9 Feb, 06:57
1.4
13 km West of Cotronei
30 km South · 20 km
19 months ago
10 Feb, 11:33
1.2
6 km South of Pietrapaola
27 km East · 29 km
19 months ago
10 Feb, 16:18
1.1
5 km West of Casali del Manco
17 km South · 14 km
19 months ago
25 Jan, 19:52
0.4
19 months ago
25 Jan, 19:03

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).

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