All earthquakes
1.6
very light
EARTHQUAKE DETAILS

7 km South-West of Belvedere Marittimo

36 months ago · 14 Sept, 22:12

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

Stronger than 74% of Italian events in the past year

Where

7 km South-West of Belvedere MarittimoEarthquakes 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

16 events
Magnitude:lightweakmoderatestrong

The energy released

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

3.8kgof TNT equivalent
Less than the energy of a lightning bolt
M3
A magnitude 3 earthquake releases ×126 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 ≈ 39 s

Animation sped up ~7× compared to reality.

  • Corigliano-Rossano
    53 km from the epicentre
    first tremor in ~17 s
    main shaking in ~29 s
  • Cosenza
    53 km from the epicentre
    first tremor in ~17 s
    main shaking in ~29 s
  • Lamezia Terme
    82 km from the epicentre
    first tremor in ~20 s
    main shaking in ~34 s
  • Catanzaro
    104 km from the epicentre
    first tremor in ~22 s
    main shaking in ~39 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

86 km
deep
9.7 times the height of Mount Everest

Being deep, it is felt less at the surface.

deeper than the area average (~39 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 (M2.7, 36 months ago) in the same area. Aftershocks are normal after an earthquake and tend to fade over time.

2.7
The mainshock
22 km South-West of Diamante
36 months ago · 31 Aug, 06:23
Activity in the area right now (30 km radius)
0
last 24 hours
1
last 7 days
3
last 30 days
8 before7 after
this quake
Strongest of the sequence2.7

How often does it happen here?

about every ~9 days

Within 50 km of this epicentre, a magnitude ≥ 2 earthquake has occurred on average this often: 486 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.

11846.8
Valle del Crati earthquake
24 May 1184 · 39 km from here
IXDestructive: many buildings partly or fully collapse.
17675.9
Valle del Crati earthquake
14 July 1767 · 47 km from here
VIII-IXDestructive: many buildings partly or fully collapse.
19135.6
Calabria settentrionale earthquake
28 June 1913 · 37 km from here
VIII-IXDestructive: many buildings partly or fully collapse.
18865.6
Cosentino earthquake
6 March 1886 · 43 km from here
VII-VIIIRuinous: partial collapses in ordinary buildings, widespread heavy damage.

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

The closest seismic structure

Crati Valley

The epicentre lies about 32 km from Crati Valley, one of the seismic structures mapped by INGV geologists.

estimated maximum magnitude 6.6between 1 and 10 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

0.8
2 km West of San Sosti
19 km East · 36 km
36 months ago
16 Sept, 23:48
1.5
3 km North-West of Maierà
13 km North · 26 km
36 months ago
10 Sept, 13:39
1.0
7 km North-West of Lungro
30 km North-East · 9 km
36 months ago
4 Sept, 21:13
1.8
36 months ago
3 Sept, 13:26
2.3
36 months ago
1 Sept, 04:05
0.8
4 km East of Grisolia
18 km North-East · 23 km
36 months ago
28 Sept, 21:18
2.7
22 km South-West of Diamante
16 km West · 274 km
36 months ago
31 Aug, 06:23
1.6
8 km West of Belvedere Marittimo
3 km North-West · 85 km
35 months ago
30 Sept, 08:10
1.5
9 km West of Bonifati
6 km South · 68 km
35 months ago
2 Oct, 14:52
0.7
9 km West of Guardia Piemontese
18 km South-East · 12 km
37 months ago
23 Aug, 04:28

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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