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EARTHQUAKE DETAILS

1 km North of Cirò Marina

80 months ago · 7 Feb, 12:23

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

Stronger than 93% of Italian events in the past year

Where

1 km North of Cirò MarinaEarthquakes 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.

43kgof TNT equivalent
Less than the energy of a lightning bolt
M3
A magnitude 3 earthquake releases ×11 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 ≈ 21 s

Animation sped up ~4× compared to reality.

  • Crotone
    31 km from the epicentre
    first tremor in ~6 s
    main shaking in ~10 s
  • Corigliano-Rossano
    63 km from the epicentre
    first tremor in ~11 s
    main shaking in ~19 s
  • Catanzaro
    70 km from the epicentre
    first tremor in ~12 s
    main shaking in ~21 s
  • Cosenza
    72 km from the epicentre
    first tremor in ~12 s
    main shaking in ~21 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

18 km
medium depth
2 times the height of Mount Everest

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

in line with the area average (~22 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?

Foreshock

In hindsight it was a foreshock: 80 months ago the same area had a stronger quake (M3.2). This can only be said after the fact — it was not predictable beforehand.

3.2
The mainshock
4 km North-East of Cirò Marina
80 months ago · 13 Feb, 15:25
Activity in the area right now (30 km radius)
0
last 24 hours
2
last 7 days
3
last 30 days
22 before118 after
this quake
Strongest of the sequence3.2

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: 428 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 · 27 km from here
XCompletely destructive: most buildings are destroyed.
18326.7
Crotonese earthquake
8 March 1832 · 37 km from here
XCompletely destructive: most buildings are destroyed.
18366.2
Calabria settentrionale earthquake
25 April 1836 · 38 km from here
XCompletely destructive: most buildings are destroyed.
17445.7
Sila Piccola earthquake
21 March 1744 · 47 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 sits above this source area: the deep structure where this area's earthquakes can originate.

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

1.7
9 km East of Cirò Marina
9 km East · 21 km
80 months ago
7 Feb, 12:53
2.2
80 months ago
7 Feb, 12:56
1.3
80 months ago
7 Feb, 13:18
1.8
80 months ago
7 Feb, 13:31
2.0
2 km South-East of Cirò Marina
4 km South-East · 22 km
80 months ago
7 Feb, 10:12
1.8
8 km East of Cirò Marina
8 km East · 19 km
80 months ago
7 Feb, 15:47
2.4
3 km North of Cirò Marina
1 km North · 21 km
80 months ago
7 Feb, 16:42
1.8
80 months ago
7 Feb, 17:23
1.5
8 km East of Cirò Marina
8 km East · 20 km
80 months ago
7 Feb, 04:48
3.1
80 months ago
7 Feb, 04:37

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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