All earthquakes
1.6
very light
EARTHQUAKE DETAILS

3 km North-East of Isola Vicentina

59 months ago · 29 Oct, 23:17

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

Stronger than 74% of Italian events in the past year

Where

3 km North-East of Isola VicentinaEarthquakes in the province of VicenzaEarthquakes in Veneto

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

5 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 ≈ 16 s

Animation sped up ~3× compared to reality.

  • Vicenza
    12 km from the epicentre
    first tremor in ~3 s
    main shaking in ~6 s
  • Verona
    42 km from the epicentre
    first tremor in ~8 s
    main shaking in ~13 s
  • Padova
    42 km from the epicentre
    first tremor in ~8 s
    main shaking in ~13 s
  • Trento
    53 km from the epicentre
    first tremor in ~9 s
    main shaking in ~16 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

16 km
medium depth
1.9 times the height of Mount Everest

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

deeper than the area average (~11 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: 58 months ago the same area had a stronger quake (M2.7). This can only be said after the fact — it was not predictable beforehand.

2.7
The mainshock
2 km South-East of Vicenza
58 months ago · 16 Nov, 01:24
Activity in the area right now (30 km radius)
1
last 24 hours
1
last 7 days
6
last 30 days
1 before3 after
this quake
Strongest of the sequence2.7

How often does it happen here?

about every ~43 days

Within 50 km of this epicentre, a magnitude ≥ 2 earthquake has occurred on average this often: 100 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.

16956.4
Asolano earthquake
25 February 1695 · 43 km from here
XCompletely destructive: most buildings are destroyed.
18915.9
Valle d'Illasi earthquake
7 June 1891 · 25 km from here
IXDestructive: many buildings partly or fully collapse.
18365.5
Asolano earthquake
12 June 1836 · 33 km from here
VIIIRuinous: partial collapses in ordinary buildings, widespread heavy damage.
19195.0
Asolano earthquake
12 July 1919 · 39 km from here
V-VIStrong: felt by everyone, many get scared; objects fall, first light damage to buildings.

Source: Parametric Catalogue of Italian Earthquakes CPTI15 (INGV, CC BY 4.0).

The closest seismic structure

Schio-Vicenza

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

estimated maximum magnitude 7.3between 1 and 15 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
58 months ago
14 Nov, 18:25
1.2
3 km West of Vestenanova
23 km West · 11 km
58 months ago
15 Nov, 16:02
2.7
2 km South-East of Vicenza
14 km South-East · 10 km
58 months ago
16 Nov, 01:24
1.3
3 km North of Valli del Pasubio
24 km North-West · 11 km
60 months ago
6 Oct, 20:36

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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