All earthquakes
4.6
moderate
EARTHQUAKE DETAILS

1 km East of Muccia

100 months ago · 10 Apr, 05:11

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. 6 of the year in ItalyStronger than 99% of Italian events in the past yearNo. 1 of the year in MarcheThe strongest of the past 12 months within 50 km

Where

1 km East of MucciaEarthquakes in the province of MacerataEarthquakes in Marche

How far away could it be felt?

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

  • up to ~15 km · clearly felt by almost everyone
    ≈ 23,000 people live in this area
  • up to ~39 km · felt by many people, especially on upper floors
    ≈ 331,000 people live in this area
  • up to ~84 km · felt only by some, at rest
    ≈ 2.5m 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.

120tof TNT equivalent
501 lightning bolts
M3
×251 the energy of a magnitude 3 earthquake
M4this quakeM6

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.

  • Foligno
    21 km from the epicentre
    first tremor in ~4 s
    main shaking in ~7 s
  • Perugia
    56 km from the epicentre
    first tremor in ~9 s
    main shaking in ~16 s
  • Terni
    62 km from the epicentre
    first tremor in ~10 s
    main shaking in ~18 s
  • Ancona
    68 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

8 km
shallow

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

in line with 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?

Isolated quake

In the 30 days around this event no other quakes were recorded within 30 km: a one-off episode, very common in Italy.

Activity in the area right now (30 km radius)
13
last 24 hours
59
last 7 days
295
last 30 days
0 before2000 after
this quake
Strongest of the sequence3.4

How often does it happen here?

about every ~10 months

Within 50 km of this epicentre, a magnitude ≥ 4.5 earthquake has occurred on average this often: 14 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.

17036.9
Valnerina earthquake
14 January 1703 · 40 km from here
XICatastrophic: very few buildings remain standing; landslides and ground cracks.
20166.6
Valnerina earthquake
30 October 2016 · 27 km from here
XICatastrophic: very few buildings remain standing; landslides and ground cracks.
13286.5
Valnerina earthquake
1 December 1328 · 24 km from here
XCompletely destructive: most buildings are destroyed.
18326.4
Valle Umbra earthquake
13 January 1832 · 36 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

Muccia-Castelluccio di Norcia

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

estimated maximum magnitude 6.9between 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

1.5
3 km South-East of Muccia
3 km South-East · 8 km
99 months ago
18 Apr, 16:48
1.7
3 km East of Muccia
1 km East · 10 km
99 months ago
18 Apr, 17:19
1.6
99 months ago
18 Apr, 18:10
1.7
99 months ago
18 Apr, 18:27
1.6
1 km North of Muccia
2 km North-West · 9 km
99 months ago
18 Apr, 19:29
1.6
0 km West of Muccia
2 km West · 9 km
99 months ago
18 Apr, 19:52
1.0
1 km West of Muccia
3 km West · 7 km
99 months ago
18 Apr, 20:08
0.7
1 km South-West of Ussita
18 km South-East · 10 km
99 months ago
18 Apr, 20:35
1.3
3 km North-West of Pieve Torina
5 km South-West · 7 km
99 months ago
18 Apr, 20:53
0.9
99 months ago
18 Apr, 20:55

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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