All earthquakes
0.7
very light
EARTHQUAKE DETAILS

1 km West of Celico

20 days ago · 4 Aug, 20:38

A very light earthquake, probably not felt by people. At this depth the shaking is felt, but rarely causes damage.

Stronger than 11% of Italian events in the past year

Where

1 km West of CelicoEarthquakes 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

24 events
Magnitude:lightweakmoderatestrong

The energy released

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

0.2kgof TNT equivalent
Less than the energy of a lightning bolt
M3
A magnitude 3 earthquake releases ×2,818 its energy
M0this quakeM2

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 ≈ 16 s

Animation sped up ~3× compared to reality.

  • Cosenza
    15 km from the epicentre
    first tremor in ~3 s
    main shaking in ~6 s
  • Corigliano-Rossano
    29 km from the epicentre
    first tremor in ~5 s
    main shaking in ~9 s
  • Lamezia Terme
    47 km from the epicentre
    first tremor in ~8 s
    main shaking in ~14 s
  • Catanzaro
    55 km from the epicentre
    first tremor in ~9 s
    main shaking in ~16 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

12 km
medium depth
1.4 times the height of Mount Everest

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

shallower than the area average (~18 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 (M3.5, 21 days ago) in the same area. Aftershocks are normal after an earthquake and tend to fade over time.

3.5
The mainshock
0 km East of Celico
21 days ago · 4 Aug, 15:05
Activity in the area right now (30 km radius)
2
last 24 hours
2
last 7 days
18
last 30 days
14 before9 after
nowthis quake
Strongest of the sequence3.5

How often does it happen here?

about every ~7 days

Within 50 km of this epicentre, a magnitude ≥ 2 earthquake has occurred on average this often: 604 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.

16387.1
Calabria centrale earthquake
27 March 1638 · 37 km from here
XICatastrophic: very few buildings remain standing; landslides and ground cracks.
16386.8
Crotonese earthquake
8 June 1638 · 36 km from here
XCompletely destructive: most buildings are destroyed.
11846.8
Valle del Crati earthquake
24 May 1184 · 19 km from here
IXDestructive: many buildings partly or fully collapse.
18546.3
Cosentino earthquake
12 February 1854 · 16 km from here
XCompletely destructive: most buildings are destroyed.

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

The closest seismic structure

Cecita Lake

The epicentre lies about 1 km from Cecita Lake, one of the seismic structures mapped by INGV geologists.

estimated maximum magnitude 7.1between 1 and 15 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

1.3
3 km South of Bisignano
19 km North-West · 10 km
20 days ago
5 Aug, 00:49
0.4
1 km West of Celico
0 km South-West · 14 km
21 days ago
4 Aug, 16:16
3.5
0 km East of Celico
1 km East · 14 km
21 days ago
4 Aug, 15:05
0.7
5 km North-West of Luzzi
18 km North-West · 9 km
20 days ago
5 Aug, 14:54
1.5
9 km West of Cotronei
29 km South-East · 15 km
19 days ago
5 Aug, 21:04
0.6
4 km South-East of Marzi
27 km South · 10 km
24 days ago
1 Aug, 13:01
0.9
4 km North-East of Aprigliano
16 km South-East · 16 km
16 days ago
8 Aug, 23:54
0.8
25 days ago
31 Jul, 16:06
0.9
3 km South-West of Rovito
12 km South-West · 12 km
25 days ago
31 Jul, 10:34
0.4
4 km East of Rose
5 km North-West · 9 km
15 days ago
10 Aug, 01:49

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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