All earthquakes
1.7
very light
EARTHQUAKE DETAILS

13 km North of Crosia

78 months ago · 23 Mar, 03:49

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

Stronger than 78% of Italian events in the past year

Where

13 km North of CrosiaEarthquakes 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

8 events
Magnitude:lightweakmoderatestrong

The energy released

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

5.4kgof TNT equivalent
Less than the energy of a lightning bolt
M3
A magnitude 3 earthquake releases ×89 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 ≈ 27 s

Animation sped up ~5× compared to reality.

  • Corigliano-Rossano
    30 km from the epicentre
    first tremor in ~7 s
    main shaking in ~11 s
  • Cosenza
    63 km from the epicentre
    first tremor in ~11 s
    main shaking in ~20 s
  • Crotone
    71 km from the epicentre
    first tremor in ~13 s
    main shaking in ~22 s
  • Catanzaro
    91 km from the epicentre
    first tremor in ~16 s
    main shaking in ~27 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

26 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 (~21 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: 78 months ago the same area had a stronger quake (M2.1). This can only be said after the fact — it was not predictable beforehand.

2.1
The mainshock
12 km North-West of Crosia
78 months ago · 26 Mar, 18:43
Activity in the area right now (30 km radius)
0
last 24 hours
3
last 7 days
7
last 30 days
2 before5 after
this quake
Strongest of the sequence2.1

How often does it happen here?

about every ~11 days

Within 50 km of this epicentre, a magnitude ≥ 2 earthquake has occurred on average this often: 371 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 · 47 km from here
XCompletely destructive: most buildings are destroyed.
18366.2
Calabria settentrionale earthquake
25 April 1836 · 15 km from here
XCompletely destructive: most buildings are destroyed.
19135.6
Calabria settentrionale earthquake
28 June 1913 · 49 km from here
VIII-IXDestructive: many buildings partly or fully collapse.
18875.5
Calabria settentrionale earthquake
3 December 1887 · 49 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

Amendolara

The epicentre lies about 3 km from Amendolara, one of the seismic structures mapped by INGV geologists.

estimated maximum magnitude 6.7between 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

1.9
12 km North of Crosia
1 km South-West · 30 km
78 months ago
23 Mar, 23:07
1.9
12 km North-West of Crosia
3 km West · 26 km
78 months ago
24 Mar, 06:58
0.9
78 months ago
21 Mar, 16:01
2.1
12 km North-West of Crosia
3 km West · 27 km
78 months ago
26 Mar, 18:43
1.4
17 km North of Crosia
6 km North-East · 24 km
79 months ago
12 Mar, 09:13
1.8
15 km North of Crosia
4 km North-East · 20 km
78 months ago
4 Apr, 20:26
1.3
7 km West of Paludi
21 km South-West · 30 km
78 months ago
8 Apr, 20:16

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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