All earthquakes
1.3
very light
EARTHQUAKE DETAILS

3 km South-West of Misano Adriatico

130 months ago · 17 Oct, 05:50

A very light earthquake, probably not felt by people. Being deep, it is felt less at the surface.

Stronger than 54% of Italian events in the past year

Where

3 km South-West of Misano AdriaticoEarthquakes in the province of RiminiEarthquakes in Emilia-Romagna

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

14 events
Magnitude:lightweakmoderatestrong

The energy released

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

1.3kgof TNT equivalent
Less than the energy of a lightning bolt
M3
A magnitude 3 earthquake releases ×355 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 ≈ 16 s

Animation sped up ~3× compared to reality.

  • Rimini
    14 km from the epicentre
    first tremor in ~7 s
    main shaking in ~12 s
  • Pesaro
    17 km from the epicentre
    first tremor in ~7 s
    main shaking in ~13 s
  • Fano
    30 km from the epicentre
    first tremor in ~9 s
    main shaking in ~15 s
  • Cesena
    39 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

41 km
deep
4.6 times the height of Mount Everest

Being deep, it is felt less at the surface.

deeper than the area average (~13 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: 129 months ago the same area had a stronger quake (M3.5). This can only be said after the fact — it was not predictable beforehand.

3.5
The mainshock
2 km South-West of Montescudo-Monte Colombo
129 months ago · 11 Nov, 19:13
Activity in the area right now (30 km radius)
0
last 24 hours
0
last 7 days
1
last 30 days
1 before12 after
this quake
Strongest of the sequence3.5

How often does it happen here?

about every ~10 days

Within 50 km of this epicentre, a magnitude ≥ 2 earthquake has occurred on average this often: 439 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 · 42 km from here
XCompletely destructive: most buildings are destroyed.
19165.8
Riminese earthquake
17 May 1916 · 20 km from here
VIIIRuinous: partial collapses in ordinary buildings, widespread heavy damage.
19165.8
Riminese earthquake
16 August 1916 · 9 km from here
VIIIRuinous: partial collapses in ordinary buildings, widespread heavy damage.
18755.7
Costa romagnola earthquake
17 March 1875 · 28 km from here
VIIIRuinous: partial collapses in ordinary buildings, widespread heavy damage.

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

The closest seismic structure

Riminese onshore

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

estimated maximum magnitude 7.0between 2 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

2.4
14 km East of Gradara
23 km East · 36 km
130 months ago
19 Oct, 15:46
1.4
2 km South-East of Montecopiolo
27 km South-West · 19 km
129 months ago
2 Nov, 14:40
1.2
4 km South-West of San Leo
26 km West · 18 km
129 months ago
11 Nov, 00:01
0.8
129 months ago
11 Nov, 03:18
1.0
129 months ago
11 Nov, 05:40
0.9
129 months ago
11 Nov, 08:10
1.3
129 months ago
11 Nov, 11:42
0.9
1 km West of Montecopiolo
28 km West · 19 km
129 months ago
11 Nov, 18:05
3.5
129 months ago
11 Nov, 19:13
1.5
1 km North of Sassofeltrio
14 km West · 39 km
129 months ago
11 Nov, 20:18

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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