All earthquakes
2.5
light
EARTHQUAKE DETAILS

Canale di Sicilia meridionale [Mare]

25 months ago · 17 Aug, 00:18

A light earthquake, rarely felt by people. Being deep, it is felt less at the surface.

Stronger than 96% of Italian events in the past year

Where

Canale di Sicilia meridionale [Mare]Earthquakes in the province of AgrigentoEarthquakes in Sicilia

Epicentre 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

3 events
Magnitude:lightweakmoderatestrong

The energy released

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

85kgof TNT equivalent
Less than the energy of a lightning bolt
M3
A magnitude 3 earthquake releases ×5.6 its energy
M2this quakeM4

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.

How deep it was born

35 km
deep
4 times the height of Mount Everest

Being deep, it is felt less at the surface.

deeper than the area average (~26 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 (M3.0, 25 months ago) in the same area. Aftershocks are normal after an earthquake and tend to fade over time.

3.0
The mainshock
Canale di Sicilia meridionale [Mare]
25 months ago · 16 Aug, 20:10
Activity in the area right now (30 km radius)
0
last 24 hours
0
last 7 days
0
last 30 days
2 before0 after
this quake
Strongest of the sequence3.0

How often does it happen here?

about every ~4 months

Within 50 km of this epicentre, a magnitude ≥ 2.5 earthquake has occurred on average this often: 37 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.

19944.9
Stretto di Sicilia earthquake
9 August 1994 · 33 km from here
20064.8
Stretto di Sicilia earthquake
23 November 2006 · 18 km from here
20114.7
Stretto di Sicilia earthquake
18 December 2011 · 26 km from here
19964.3
Stretto di Sicilia earthquake
25 April 1996 · 22 km from here

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

The closest seismic structure

LinosaN

The epicentre lies about 4 km from LinosaN, one of the seismic structures mapped by INGV geologists.

estimated maximum magnitude 7.6between 4 and 13 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

2.6
Canale di Sicilia meridionale [Mare]
17 km North-West · 36 km
25 months ago
16 Aug, 22:37
3.0
25 months ago
16 Aug, 20:10

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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