All earthquakes
1.9
very light
EARTHQUAKE DETAILS

3 km North of Bagnara Calabra

85 months ago · 1 Sept, 21:19

A very light earthquake, probably not felt by people. Being deep, it is felt less at the surface.

Stronger than 85% of Italian events in the past year

Where

3 km North of Bagnara CalabraEarthquakes in the province of Reggio CalabriaEarthquakes 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

12 events
Magnitude:lightweakmoderatestrong

The energy released

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

11kgof TNT equivalent
Less than the energy of a lightning bolt
M3
A magnitude 3 earthquake releases ×45 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 ≈ 33 s

Animation sped up ~6× compared to reality.

  • Reggio di Calabria
    24 km from the epicentre
    first tremor in ~12 s
    main shaking in ~21 s
  • Messina
    29 km from the epicentre
    first tremor in ~13 s
    main shaking in ~22 s
  • Lamezia Terme
    84 km from the epicentre
    first tremor in ~18 s
    main shaking in ~31 s
  • Acireale
    94 km from the epicentre
    first tremor in ~19 s
    main shaking in ~33 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

70 km
deep
7.9 times the height of Mount Everest

Being deep, it is felt less at the surface.

deeper than the area average (~47 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, 86 months ago) in the same area. Aftershocks are normal after an earthquake and tend to fade over time.

2.0
The mainshock
24 km South-West of Ricadi
86 months ago · 14 Aug, 06:21
Activity in the area right now (30 km radius)
0
last 24 hours
1
last 7 days
20
last 30 days
4 before7 after
this quake
Strongest of the sequence2.0

How often does it happen here?

about every ~3 days

Within 50 km of this epicentre, a magnitude ≥ 2 earthquake has occurred on average this often: 1372 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.

19087.1
Stretto di Messina earthquake
28 December 1908 · 21 km from here
XICatastrophic: very few buildings remain standing; landslides and ground cracks.
17837.1
Calabria meridionale earthquake
5 February 1783 · 14 km from here
XICatastrophic: very few buildings remain standing; landslides and ground cracks.
17836.7
Calabria centrale earthquake
7 February 1783 · 46 km from here
X-XICatastrophic: very few buildings remain standing; landslides and ground cracks.
18946.1
Calabria meridionale earthquake
16 November 1894 · 6 km from here
IXDestructive: many buildings partly or fully collapse.

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

The closest seismic structure

Bagnara-Bovalino

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

estimated maximum magnitude 7.1between 3 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).

Other quakes in the area

0.7
1 km North-West of Bagaladi
26 km South · 9 km
85 months ago
27 Aug, 10:11
1.0
85 months ago
27 Aug, 01:16
0.8
85 months ago
13 Sept, 03:48
1.1
85 months ago
13 Sept, 08:27
1.6
1 km North-West of Palmi
11 km North-East · 10 km
86 months ago
15 Aug, 13:54
2.0
24 km South-West of Ricadi
28 km North-West · 88 km
86 months ago
14 Aug, 06:21
1.6
4 km West of Gioia Tauro
15 km North-East · 16 km
84 months ago
24 Sept, 14:42
1.7
4 km West of Gioia Tauro
14 km North-East · 11 km
84 months ago
24 Sept, 14:47
1.5
4 km West of Gioia Tauro
15 km North-East · 14 km
84 months ago
24 Sept, 14:49
1.5
4 km North of Palmi
14 km North-East · 17 km
84 months ago
24 Sept, 15:03

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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