All earthquakes
1.8
very light
EARTHQUAKE DETAILS

2 km North of Calopezzati

126 months ago · 21 Apr, 12:45

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

Stronger than 82% of Italian events in the past year

Where

2 km North of CalopezzatiEarthquakes 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

18 events
Magnitude:lightweakmoderatestrong

The energy released

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

7.6kgof TNT equivalent
Less than the energy of a lightning bolt
M3
A magnitude 3 earthquake releases ×63 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 ≈ 24 s

Animation sped up ~4× compared to reality.

  • Corigliano-Rossano
    30 km from the epicentre
    first tremor in ~8 s
    main shaking in ~13 s
  • Cosenza
    55 km from the epicentre
    first tremor in ~11 s
    main shaking in ~18 s
  • Crotone
    58 km from the epicentre
    first tremor in ~11 s
    main shaking in ~19 s
  • Catanzaro
    77 km from the epicentre
    first tremor in ~14 s
    main shaking in ~24 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

34 km
deep
3.8 times the height of Mount Everest

Being deep, it is felt less at the surface.

deeper than the area average (~20 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, 127 months ago) in the same area. Aftershocks are normal after an earthquake and tend to fade over time.

2.7
The mainshock
1 km North-East of Caloveto
127 months ago · 30 Mar, 22:33
Activity in the area right now (30 km radius)
0
last 24 hours
3
last 7 days
8
last 30 days
13 before4 after
this quake
Strongest of the sequence2.7

How often does it happen here?

about every ~10 days

Within 50 km of this epicentre, a magnitude ≥ 2 earthquake has occurred on average this often: 432 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.

16386.8
Crotonese earthquake
8 June 1638 · 32 km from here
XCompletely destructive: most buildings are destroyed.
18366.2
Calabria settentrionale earthquake
25 April 1836 · 4 km from here
XCompletely destructive: most buildings are destroyed.
18355.9
Cosentino earthquake
12 October 1835 · 50 km from here
XCompletely destructive: most buildings are destroyed.
17675.9
Valle del Crati earthquake
14 July 1767 · 49 km from here
VIII-IXDestructive: many buildings partly or fully collapse.

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

The closest seismic structure

Amendolara

The epicentre lies about 15 km from Amendolara, one of the seismic structures mapped by INGV geologists.

estimated maximum magnitude 6.7between 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

2.2
3 km South-East of Pietrapaola
10 km South · 29 km
126 months ago
21 Apr, 08:29
1.9
16 km North-West of Crosia
18 km North-West · 36 km
126 months ago
29 Apr, 20:54
1.9
16 km North-West of Crosia
18 km North-West · 32 km
126 months ago
29 Apr, 20:57
1.1
2 km North of Caloveto
4 km South-West · 31 km
126 months ago
11 Apr, 22:45
1.7
3 km South-West of Caloveto
8 km South-West · 24 km
126 months ago
11 Apr, 22:42
1.6
7 km East of Crucoli
29 km South-East · 10 km
126 months ago
11 Apr, 19:35
1.9
1 km North-West of Caloveto
6 km South-West · 29 km
126 months ago
7 May, 10:22
1.9
1 km North-East of Calopezzati
1 km South-East · 34 km
127 months ago
5 Apr, 13:24
1.1
4 km South of Cropalati
10 km South-West · 33 km
125 months ago
8 May, 19:48
1.8
127 months ago
3 Apr, 17:04

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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