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3.4
weak
EARTHQUAKE DETAILS

2 km South-East of Falconara Albanese

85 months ago · 6 Sept, 16:11

A weak earthquake, felt by some of the population. Being deep, it is felt less at the surface.

Stronger than 99% of Italian events in the past year

Where

2 km South-East of Falconara AlbaneseEarthquakes 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

15 events
Magnitude:lightweakmoderatestrong

The energy released

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

1.9tof TNT equivalent
7.9 lightning bolts
M3
×4 the energy of a magnitude 3 earthquake
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 ≈ 19 s

Animation sped up ~4× compared to reality.

  • Cosenza
    14 km from the epicentre
    first tremor in ~6 s
    main shaking in ~10 s
  • Lamezia Terme
    36 km from the epicentre
    first tremor in ~8 s
    main shaking in ~14 s
  • Corigliano-Rossano
    49 km from the epicentre
    first tremor in ~10 s
    main shaking in ~17 s
  • Catanzaro
    58 km from the epicentre
    first tremor in ~11 s
    main shaking in ~19 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

32 km
deep
3.6 times the height of Mount Everest

Being deep, it is felt less at the surface.

deeper than the area average (~25 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?

Mainshock

It is the strongest quake of its sequence: so far it has been followed by 10 aftershocks within 30 km. Aftershocks tend to fade in number and strength over time.

Activity in the area right now (30 km radius)
0
last 24 hours
0
last 7 days
13
last 30 days
4 before10 after
this quake
Strongest of the sequence3.3

How often does it happen here?

about every ~52 days

Within 50 km of this epicentre, a magnitude ≥ 3 earthquake has occurred on average this often: 82 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 · 28 km from here
XICatastrophic: very few buildings remain standing; landslides and ground cracks.
11846.8
Valle del Crati earthquake
24 May 1184 · 17 km from here
IXDestructive: many buildings partly or fully collapse.
18546.3
Cosentino earthquake
12 February 1854 · 15 km from here
XCompletely destructive: most buildings are destroyed.
18706.2
Cosentino earthquake
4 October 1870 · 19 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

Crati Valley

The epicentre lies about 10 km from Crati Valley, one of the seismic structures mapped by INGV geologists.

estimated maximum magnitude 6.6between 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
1 km North of Marano Principato
6 km North-East · 24 km
85 months ago
6 Sept, 21:00
1.6
2 km South of Mangone
19 km East · 17 km
85 months ago
9 Sept, 06:44
3.3
20 km West of Amantea
28 km South-West · 114 km
85 months ago
9 Sept, 12:24
1.9
2 km South of Mangone
19 km East · 17 km
85 months ago
9 Sept, 21:33
1.7
85 months ago
10 Sept, 03:36
1.9
3 km South of Mangone
19 km East · 17 km
85 months ago
11 Sept, 12:03
1.9
2 km West of Carpanzano
20 km South-East · 57 km
85 months ago
12 Sept, 13:00
1.7
85 months ago
26 Aug, 06:17
1.8
10 km West of Longobardi
12 km West · 48 km
85 months ago
24 Aug, 23:24
1.6
2 km South of Mangone
19 km East · 17 km
84 months ago
20 Sept, 10:33

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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