M2.1 offshore earthquake
A light earthquake, rarely felt by people. At only a few km deep the shaking is felt more sharply at the surface.
Where
Nearest Italian town: Leni (ME)Earthquakes in the province of MessinaEarthquakes in SiciliaEpicentre at sea
The epicentre is at sea: for the same magnitude, the shaking is felt less on land, because the energy fades along the way before reaching the coast.
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
21 eventsThe energy released
How much energy this quake unleashed, translated into everyday comparisons.
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.
Animation sped up ~7× compared to reality.
- Bagheria85 km from the epicentrefirst tremor in ~14 smain shaking in ~24 s
- Palermo91 km from the epicentrefirst tremor in ~15 smain shaking in ~26 s
- Caltanissetta130 km from the epicentrefirst tremor in ~22 smain shaking in ~37 s
- Messina130 km from the epicentrefirst tremor in ~22 smain shaking in ~37 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
At only a few km deep the shaking is felt more sharply at the surface.
shallower 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?
It is an aftershock: it follows a stronger quake (M3.0, 6 years ago) in the same area. Aftershocks are normal after an earthquake and tend to fade over time.
How often does it happen here?
Within 50 km of this epicentre, a magnitude ≥ 2 earthquake has occurred on average this often: 524 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.
Source: Parametric Catalogue of Italian Earthquakes CPTI15 (INGV, CC BY 4.0).
The closest seismic structure
The epicentre sits above this source area: the deep structure where this area's earthquakes can originate.
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
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).