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2.9
light
EARTHQUAKE DETAILS

2 km North-West of Carfizzi

25 months ago · 12 Aug, 15:47

A light earthquake, rarely felt by people. At this depth the shaking is felt, but rarely causes damage.

Stronger than 98% of Italian events in the past year

Where

2 km North-West of CarfizziEarthquakes in the province of CrotoneEarthquakes 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

61 events
Magnitude:lightweakmoderatestrong

The energy released

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

338kgof TNT equivalent
1.4 lightning bolts
M3
A magnitude 3 earthquake releases ×1.4 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.

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 ≈ 20 s

Animation sped up ~4× compared to reality.

  • Crotone
    28 km from the epicentre
    first tremor in ~6 s
    main shaking in ~11 s
  • Corigliano-Rossano
    57 km from the epicentre
    first tremor in ~11 s
    main shaking in ~18 s
  • Catanzaro
    61 km from the epicentre
    first tremor in ~11 s
    main shaking in ~19 s
  • Cosenza
    63 km from the epicentre
    first tremor in ~11 s
    main shaking in ~20 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

27 km
medium depth
3 times the height of Mount Everest

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

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 (M5.0, 25 months ago) in the same area. Aftershocks are normal after an earthquake and tend to fade over time.

5.0
The mainshock
4 km South-West of Pietrapaola
25 months ago · 1 Aug, 21:43
Activity in the area right now (30 km radius)
1
last 24 hours
2
last 7 days
4
last 30 days
219 before266 after
this quake
Strongest of the sequence5.0

How often does it happen here?

about every ~26 days

Within 50 km of this epicentre, a magnitude ≥ 2.5 earthquake has occurred on average this often: 161 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 · 18 km from here
XCompletely destructive: most buildings are destroyed.
18326.7
Crotonese earthquake
8 March 1832 · 30 km from here
XCompletely destructive: most buildings are destroyed.
18366.2
Calabria settentrionale earthquake
25 April 1836 · 33 km from here
XCompletely destructive: most buildings are destroyed.
17445.7
Sila Piccola earthquake
21 March 1744 · 39 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

Crotone-Rossano

The epicentre lies about 7 km from Crotone-Rossano, one of the seismic structures mapped by INGV geologists.

estimated maximum magnitude 7.3between 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

2.3
25 months ago
12 Aug, 15:39
2.6
1 km South of Umbriatico
5 km West · 23 km
25 months ago
12 Aug, 15:57
2.2
3 km West of Carfizzi
3 km West · 28 km
25 months ago
12 Aug, 15:36
2.0
1 km West of Cirò
4 km North-East · 25 km
25 months ago
12 Aug, 15:35
1.6
3 km North of Carfizzi
2 km North · 29 km
25 months ago
12 Aug, 16:00
2.4
3 km East of Umbriatico
3 km North-West · 23 km
25 months ago
12 Aug, 15:33
2.9
1 km West of Umbriatico
7 km West · 22 km
25 months ago
12 Aug, 16:02
3.8
4 km East of Umbriatico
3 km North · 23 km
25 months ago
12 Aug, 15:31
3.6
25 months ago
12 Aug, 16:05
3.7
3 km West of Cirò
3 km North-East · 23 km
25 months ago
12 Aug, 15:22

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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