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3.5
weak
EARTHQUAKE DETAILS

3 km South of Pieve Torina

114 months ago · 4 Feb, 04:41

A weak earthquake, felt by some of the population. At only a few km deep the shaking is felt more sharply at the surface.

Stronger than 99% of Italian events in the past yearNo. 4 of the year in Marche

Where

3 km South of Pieve TorinaEarthquakes 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 ~5 km · felt by many people, especially on upper floors
    ≈ 3,000 people live in this area
  • up to ~24 km · felt only by some, at rest
    ≈ 84,000 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.

2.7tof TNT equivalent
11 lightning bolts
M3
×5.6 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 ≈ 19 s

Animation sped up ~3× compared to reality.

  • Foligno
    19 km from the epicentre
    first tremor in ~3 s
    main shaking in ~6 s
  • Terni
    54 km from the epicentre
    first tremor in ~9 s
    main shaking in ~16 s
  • Perugia
    58 km from the epicentre
    first tremor in ~10 s
    main shaking in ~17 s
  • Teramo
    65 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)
8
last 24 hours
58
last 7 days
334
last 30 days
0 before2000 after
this quake
Strongest of the sequence3.2

How often does it happen here?

about every ~14 days

Within 50 km of this epicentre, a magnitude ≥ 3.5 earthquake has occurred on average this often: 305 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 · 30 km from here
XICatastrophic: very few buildings remain standing; landslides and ground cracks.
20166.6
Valnerina earthquake
30 October 2016 · 18 km from here
XICatastrophic: very few buildings remain standing; landslides and ground cracks.
13286.5
Valnerina earthquake
1 December 1328 · 14 km from here
XCompletely destructive: most buildings are destroyed.
18326.4
Valle Umbra earthquake
13 January 1832 · 35 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

1.1
4 km North of Norcia
20 km South-East · 10 km
114 months ago
15 Feb, 00:43
1.1
114 months ago
15 Feb, 00:47
2.0
2 km North-East of Monte Cavallo
4 km North-West · 8 km
114 months ago
15 Feb, 01:30
1.5
5 km North of Norcia
20 km South-East · 10 km
114 months ago
15 Feb, 01:36
1.3
1 km East of Monte Cavallo
3 km North-West · 12 km
114 months ago
15 Feb, 02:51
1.3
7 km West of Arquata del Tronto
27 km South-East · 12 km
114 months ago
15 Feb, 02:56
1.5
3 km West of Visso
3 km South · 8 km
114 months ago
15 Feb, 02:58
1.7
2 km South-East of Pieve Torina
1 km North-East · 8 km
114 months ago
15 Feb, 04:10
1.9
2 km South-East of Pieve Torina
1 km North-East · 8 km
114 months ago
15 Feb, 04:54
1.3
3 km East of Pieve Torina
3 km North-East · 9 km
114 months ago
15 Feb, 06:20

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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