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2.4
light
EARTHQUAKE DETAILS

3 km North-East of Frontone

129 months ago · 21 Nov, 15:40

A light earthquake, rarely felt by people. Being deep, it is felt less at the surface.

Stronger than 94% of Italian events in the past year

Where

3 km North-East of FrontoneEarthquakes in the province of Pesaro e UrbinoEarthquakes in Marche

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.

60kgof TNT equivalent
Less than the energy of a lightning bolt
M3
A magnitude 3 earthquake releases ×7.9 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 ≈ 22 s

Animation sped up ~4× compared to reality.

  • Fano
    38 km from the epicentre
    first tremor in ~10 s
    main shaking in ~17 s
  • Pesaro
    39 km from the epicentre
    first tremor in ~10 s
    main shaking in ~18 s
  • Perugia
    55 km from the epicentre
    first tremor in ~12 s
    main shaking in ~21 s
  • Rimini
    59 km from the epicentre
    first tremor in ~13 s
    main shaking in ~22 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

48 km
deep
5.4 times the height of Mount Everest

Being deep, it is felt less at the surface.

deeper than 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?

Mainshock

It is the strongest quake of its sequence: so far it has been followed by 120 aftershocks within 30 km. Aftershocks tend to fade in number and strength over time.

Activity in the area right now (30 km radius)
4
last 24 hours
33
last 7 days
153
last 30 days
164 before120 after
this quake
Strongest of the sequence2.0

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: 584 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.

17816.5
Cagliese earthquake
3 June 1781 · 19 km from here
XCompletely destructive: most buildings are destroyed.
17516.4
Appennino umbro-marchigiano earthquake
27 July 1751 · 33 km from here
XCompletely destructive: most buildings are destroyed.
13526.3
Alta Valtiberina earthquake
25 December 1352 · 49 km from here
IXDestructive: many buildings partly or fully collapse.
12796.2
Appennino umbro-marchigiano earthquake
30 April 1279 · 49 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

Urbino-Camerino

The epicentre lies about 1 km from Urbino-Camerino, one of the seismic structures mapped by INGV geologists.

estimated maximum magnitude 6.9between 3 and 9 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

1.4
129 months ago
21 Nov, 16:26
0.9
129 months ago
21 Nov, 12:04
0.9
6 km West of Scheggia e Pascelupo
13 km South-West · 12 km
129 months ago
21 Nov, 08:26
1.5
3 km North-East of Gubbio
24 km South-West · 7 km
129 months ago
20 Nov, 18:53
1.5
129 months ago
20 Nov, 16:09
1.7
2 km North of Sigillo
19 km South · 13 km
129 months ago
20 Nov, 11:59
0.7
3 km South-West of Acqualagna
14 km North-West · 10 km
129 months ago
20 Nov, 07:22
1.0
4 km West of Cantiano
14 km South-West · 10 km
129 months ago
23 Nov, 00:02
0.9
129 months ago
23 Nov, 06:20
1.0
4 km North-West of Gubbio
24 km South-West · 7 km
129 months ago
19 Nov, 10:36

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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