All earthquakes
0.9
very light
EARTHQUAKE DETAILS

6 km North-East of Gubbio

113 months ago · 17 Mar, 11:22

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

Stronger than 22% of Italian events in the past year

Where

6 km North-East of GubbioEarthquakes 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.

0.3kgof TNT equivalent
Less than the energy of a lightning bolt
M3
A magnitude 3 earthquake releases ×1,413 its energy
M0this quakeM2

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
    34 km from the epicentre
    first tremor in ~6 s
    main shaking in ~10 s
  • Foligno
    48 km from the epicentre
    first tremor in ~8 s
    main shaking in ~14 s
  • Arezzo
    53 km from the epicentre
    first tremor in ~9 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

11 km
medium depth
1.2 times the height of Mount Everest

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

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 (M2.6, 113 months ago) in the same area. Aftershocks are normal after an earthquake and tend to fade over time.

2.6
The mainshock
5 km West of Scheggia e Pascelupo
113 months ago · 22 Feb, 06:39
Activity in the area right now (30 km radius)
3
last 24 hours
32
last 7 days
175
last 30 days
62 before51 after
this quake
Strongest of the sequence2.6

How often does it happen here?

about every ~6 days

Within 50 km of this epicentre, a magnitude ≥ 2 earthquake has occurred on average this often: 669 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 · 25 km from here
XCompletely destructive: most buildings are destroyed.
18326.4
Valle Umbra earthquake
13 January 1832 · 44 km from here
XCompletely destructive: most buildings are destroyed.
17516.4
Appennino umbro-marchigiano earthquake
27 July 1751 · 22 km from here
XCompletely destructive: most buildings are destroyed.
13526.3
Alta Valtiberina earthquake
25 December 1352 · 37 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

Gubbio Basin

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

estimated maximum magnitude 7.0between 2 and 7 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

1.3
113 months ago
17 Mar, 10:25
1.5
6 km North-East of Piobbico
26 km North · 14 km
113 months ago
17 Mar, 06:16
1.4
9 km South-West of Gubbio
15 km South-West · 11 km
113 months ago
17 Mar, 05:09
1.3
4 km West of Sigillo
12 km East · 13 km
113 months ago
18 Mar, 03:18
0.9
7 km East of Montone
11 km West · 6 km
113 months ago
16 Mar, 15:16
0.9
6 km South of Gualdo Tadino
27 km South-East · 11 km
113 months ago
16 Mar, 11:39
0.1
4 km East of Serra Sant'Abbondio
24 km North-East · 1 km
113 months ago
16 Mar, 09:13
1.1
6 km South-West of Cagli
17 km North · 12 km
113 months ago
16 Mar, 07:57
1.2
7 km South-West of Cantiano
6 km North · 10 km
113 months ago
18 Mar, 14:52
1.8
4 km South-East of Pietralunga
12 km North-West · 61 km
113 months ago
18 Mar, 19:28

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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