All earthquakes
1.6
very light
EARTHQUAKE DETAILS

3 km South-West of Costacciaro

101 months ago · 19 Feb, 15:54

A very light earthquake, probably not felt by people. At only a few km deep the shaking is felt more sharply at the surface.

Stronger than 73% of Italian events in the past year

Where

3 km South-West of CostacciaroEarthquakes in the province of PerugiaEarthquakes in Umbria

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.

3.8kgof TNT equivalent
Less than the energy of a lightning bolt
M3
A magnitude 3 earthquake releases ×126 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 ≈ 17 s

Animation sped up ~3× compared to reality.

  • Perugia
    38 km from the epicentre
    first tremor in ~7 s
    main shaking in ~11 s
  • Foligno
    41 km from the epicentre
    first tremor in ~7 s
    main shaking in ~12 s
  • Fano
    56 km from the epicentre
    first tremor in ~10 s
    main shaking in ~16 s
  • Pesaro
    58 km from the epicentre
    first tremor in ~10 s
    main shaking in ~17 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

10 km
shallow
1.1 times the height of Mount Everest

At only a few km deep the shaking is felt more sharply at the surface.

in line with the area average (~10 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 (M2.0, 102 months ago) in the same area. Aftershocks are normal after an earthquake and tend to fade over time.

2.0
The mainshock
5 km North-West of Fiuminata
102 months ago · 25 Jan, 00:07
Activity in the area right now (30 km radius)
6
last 24 hours
40
last 7 days
175
last 30 days
73 before46 after
this quake
Strongest of the sequence2.0

How often does it happen here?

about every ~2 days

Within 50 km of this epicentre, a magnitude ≥ 2 earthquake has occurred on average this often: 2767 events in the last 11 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.

17816.5
Cagliese earthquake
3 June 1781 · 31 km from here
XCompletely destructive: most buildings are destroyed.
18326.4
Valle Umbra earthquake
13 January 1832 · 41 km from here
XCompletely destructive: most buildings are destroyed.
17516.4
Appennino umbro-marchigiano earthquake
27 July 1751 · 14 km from here
XCompletely destructive: most buildings are destroyed.
13526.3
Alta Valtiberina earthquake
25 December 1352 · 48 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

Piandimeleto-Bavareto

The epicentre sits above this source area: the deep structure where this area's earthquakes can originate.

estimated maximum magnitude 7.1between 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

1.2
101 months ago
20 Feb, 00:51
1.4
2 km North of Costacciaro
5 km North-East · 13 km
101 months ago
19 Feb, 06:55
1.4
8 km North-West of Valfabbrica
16 km South-West · 9 km
101 months ago
18 Feb, 07:03
0.6
7 km South-West of Cantiano
13 km North-West · 10 km
101 months ago
17 Feb, 11:17
1.9
7 km West of Costacciaro
7 km North-West · 11 km
101 months ago
21 Feb, 21:56
1.2
7 km South-West of Cantiano
13 km North-West · 10 km
101 months ago
17 Feb, 08:32
0.7
3 km South-West of Fiuminata
28 km South-East · 10 km
101 months ago
22 Feb, 00:30
1.7
101 months ago
15 Feb, 20:44
1.4
6 km West of Costacciaro
7 km North-West · 11 km
101 months ago
23 Feb, 14:05
0.9
3 km South of Fossato di Vico
10 km South-East · 11 km
101 months ago
15 Feb, 16:37

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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