All earthquakes
0.6
very light
EARTHQUAKE DETAILS

1 km West of Pescosolido

105 months ago · 16 Jan, 01:33

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

Stronger than 6% of Italian events in the past year

Where

1 km West of PescosolidoEarthquakes in the province of FrosinoneEarthquakes in Lazio

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

34 events
Magnitude:lightweakmoderatestrong

The energy released

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

0.1kgof TNT equivalent
Less than the energy of a lightning bolt
M3
A magnitude 3 earthquake releases ×3,981 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 ≈ 22 s

Animation sped up ~4× compared to reality.

  • L'Aquila
    62 km from the epicentre
    first tremor in ~10 s
    main shaking in ~18 s
  • Chieti
    75 km from the epicentre
    first tremor in ~13 s
    main shaking in ~22 s
  • Velletri
    76 km from the epicentre
    first tremor in ~13 s
    main shaking in ~22 s
  • Latina
    76 km from the epicentre
    first tremor in ~13 s
    main shaking in ~22 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

12 km
medium depth
1.4 times the height of Mount Everest

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

in line with the area average (~12 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?

Aftershock

It is an aftershock: it follows a stronger quake (M2.2, 106 months ago) in the same area. Aftershocks are normal after an earthquake and tend to fade over time.

2.2
The mainshock
3 km South of Villalago
106 months ago · 17 Dec, 11:20
Activity in the area right now (30 km radius)
0
last 24 hours
3
last 7 days
7
last 30 days
13 before20 after
this quake
Strongest of the sequence2.2

How often does it happen here?

about every ~11 days

Within 50 km of this epicentre, a magnitude ≥ 2 earthquake has occurred on average this often: 393 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.

19157.1
Marsica earthquake
13 January 1915 · 28 km from here
XICatastrophic: very few buildings remain standing; landslides and ground cracks.
17066.8
Maiella earthquake
3 November 1706 · 48 km from here
X-XICatastrophic: very few buildings remain standing; landslides and ground cracks.
13496.8
Lazio-Molise earthquake
9 September 1349 · 34 km from here
X-XICatastrophic: very few buildings remain standing; landslides and ground cracks.
16546.3
Sorano earthquake
24 July 1654 · 16 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

Salto Lake-Ovindoli-Barrea

The epicentre lies about 5 km from Salto Lake-Ovindoli-Barrea, one of the seismic structures mapped by INGV geologists.

estimated maximum magnitude 7.1between 1 and 15 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
1 km North-East of Pescina
28 km North · 11 km
105 months ago
16 Jan, 01:48
1.5
2 km North-East of Pescina
28 km North · 11 km
105 months ago
15 Jan, 23:16
1.3
1 km North-East of Pescosolido
1 km North-East · 14 km
105 months ago
15 Jan, 08:43
0.9
1 km East of Pescosolido
2 km East · 15 km
105 months ago
15 Jan, 08:21
1.1
4 km North of Ortucchio
22 km North · 10 km
105 months ago
14 Jan, 20:17
1.9
2 km South of Lecce nei Marsi
13 km North · 15 km
105 months ago
14 Jan, 01:36
1.2
2 km South-West of Pizzone
29 km East · 16 km
105 months ago
12 Jan, 19:44
1.5
105 months ago
19 Jan, 17:30
0.4
3 km South of Picinisco
26 km South-East · 1 km
105 months ago
19 Jan, 23:05
1.2
105 months ago
21 Jan, 17:58

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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