All earthquakes
1.9
very light
EARTHQUAKE DETAILS

3 km West of Marano Principato

45 months ago · 10 Dec, 07:56

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

Stronger than 85% of Italian events in the past year

Where

3 km West of Marano PrincipatoEarthquakes 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

18 events
Magnitude:lightweakmoderatestrong

The energy released

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

11kgof TNT equivalent
Less than the energy of a lightning bolt
M3
A magnitude 3 earthquake releases ×45 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 ≈ 19 s

Animation sped up ~4× compared to reality.

  • Cosenza
    13 km from the epicentre
    first tremor in ~5 s
    main shaking in ~8 s
  • Lamezia Terme
    41 km from the epicentre
    first tremor in ~8 s
    main shaking in ~14 s
  • Corigliano-Rossano
    44 km from the epicentre
    first tremor in ~9 s
    main shaking in ~15 s
  • Catanzaro
    61 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

26 km
medium depth
3 times the height of Mount Everest

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

in line with 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 7 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
10 before7 after
this quake
Strongest of the sequence1.9

How often does it happen here?

about every ~8 days

Within 50 km of this epicentre, a magnitude ≥ 2 earthquake has occurred on average this often: 544 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 · 32 km from here
XICatastrophic: very few buildings remain standing; landslides and ground cracks.
11846.8
Valle del Crati earthquake
24 May 1184 · 12 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 · 20 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 8 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

1.6
6 km South-West of Acri
28 km North-East · 11 km
45 months ago
7 Dec, 22:18
1.8
6 km East of Rose
25 km North-East · 8 km
45 months ago
6 Dec, 15:34
1.2
4 km North of Aprigliano
29 km East · 11 km
45 months ago
1 Dec, 08:19
1.1
0 km West of Rose
19 km North-East · 10 km
46 months ago
30 Nov, 20:11
0.8
4 km West of Rose
17 km North-East · 7 km
45 months ago
20 Dec, 22:00
1.4
46 months ago
28 Nov, 06:45
1.6
46 months ago
28 Nov, 06:45
0.7
5 km West of Acri
30 km North-East · 10 km
45 months ago
22 Dec, 20:00
1.3
3 km South-West of Cosenza
11 km East · 11 km
45 months ago
23 Dec, 13:40
1.1
3 km East of Celico
28 km East · 16 km
46 months ago
26 Nov, 22:00

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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