All earthquakes
4.3
moderate
EARTHQUAKE DETAILS

10 km South of Montone

40 months ago · 9 Mar, 16:05

A moderate earthquake, felt by people in the area. At only a few km deep the shaking is felt more sharply at the surface.

No. 14 of the year in ItalyStronger than 99% of Italian events in the past yearNo. 1 of the year in UmbriaThe strongest of the past 12 months within 50 km

Where

10 km South of MontoneEarthquakes in the province of PerugiaEarthquakes in Umbria

How far away could it be felt?

An estimate of how far people may have felt this quake.

  • up to ~8 km · clearly felt by almost everyone
  • up to ~27 km · felt by many people, especially on upper floors
    ≈ 306,000 people live in this area
  • up to ~61 km · felt only by some, at rest
    ≈ 1.1m people live in this area

The coloured rings on the map below show these distances.

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.

43tof TNT equivalent
178 lightning bolts
M3
×89 the energy of a magnitude 3 earthquake
M3this quakeM5

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 ≈ 21 s

Animation sped up ~4× compared to reality.

  • Perugia
    19 km from the epicentre
    first tremor in ~3 s
    main shaking in ~6 s
  • Arezzo
    42 km from the epicentre
    first tremor in ~7 s
    main shaking in ~12 s
  • Foligno
    48 km from the epicentre
    first tremor in ~8 s
    main shaking in ~14 s
  • Pesaro
    73 km from the epicentre
    first tremor in ~12 s
    main shaking in ~21 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

3 km
shallow

At only a few km deep the shaking is felt more sharply at the surface.

shallower than 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?

Foreshock

In hindsight it was a foreshock: 40 months ago the same area had a stronger quake (M4.5). This can only be said after the fact — it was not predictable beforehand.

4.5
The mainshock
11 km South of Montone
40 months ago · 9 Mar, 20:08
Activity in the area right now (30 km radius)
7
last 24 hours
27
last 7 days
117
last 30 days
128 before437 after
this quake
Strongest of the sequence4.5

How often does it happen here?

about every ~5.7 years

Within 50 km of this epicentre, a magnitude ≥ 4 earthquake has occurred on average this often: 2 events in the last 11 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 · 36 km from here
XCompletely destructive: most buildings are destroyed.
18326.4
Valle Umbra earthquake
13 January 1832 · 39 km from here
XCompletely destructive: most buildings are destroyed.
17516.4
Appennino umbro-marchigiano earthquake
27 July 1751 · 29 km from here
XCompletely destructive: most buildings are destroyed.
13526.3
Alta Valtiberina earthquake
25 December 1352 · 29 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

Mugello-Citta' di Castello-Leonessa

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

estimated maximum magnitude 6.9between 1 and 8 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
11 km South of Montone
1 km South-West · 5 km
40 months ago
9 Mar, 16:12
1.9
11 km South of Montone
1 km South-West · 4 km
40 months ago
9 Mar, 16:13
1.1
11 km South of Montone
1 km South-West · 5 km
40 months ago
9 Mar, 16:14
0.9
40 months ago
9 Mar, 15:53
1.4
11 km East of Umbertide
1 km South-West · 5 km
40 months ago
9 Mar, 16:19
0.9
11 km South of Montone
1 km South-West · 7 km
40 months ago
9 Mar, 16:20
1.3
10 km South-East of Montone
1 km North · 6 km
40 months ago
9 Mar, 16:21
0.9
40 months ago
9 Mar, 15:39
1.3
9 km South of Montone
2 km West · 5 km
40 months ago
9 Mar, 16:31
0.8
40 months ago
9 Mar, 15:38

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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