All earthquakes
3.0
weak
EARTHQUAKE DETAILS

12 km North-East of Pulfero

4 days ago · 21 Aug, 14:56

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 98% of Italian events in the past year

Where

12 km North-East of PulferoEarthquakes in the province of UdineEarthquakes in Friuli-Venezia Giulia

How far away could it be felt?

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

  • up to ~10 km · felt only by some, at rest

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

7 events
Magnitude:lightweakmoderatestrong

The energy released

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

477kgof TNT equivalent
2.0 lightning bolts
M3
About the same energy as a magnitude 3 earthquake
M2this quakeM4

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 ≈ 35 s

Animation sped up ~7× compared to reality.

  • Udine
    34 km from the epicentre
    first tremor in ~6 s
    main shaking in ~10 s
  • Trieste
    76 km from the epicentre
    first tremor in ~13 s
    main shaking in ~22 s
  • Pordenone
    79 km from the epicentre
    first tremor in ~13 s
    main shaking in ~23 s
  • Treviso
    123 km from the epicentre
    first tremor in ~21 s
    main shaking in ~35 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

4 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?

Mainshock

It is the strongest quake of its sequence: so far it has been followed by one aftershock within 30 km. Aftershocks tend to fade in number and strength over time.

Activity in the area right now (30 km radius)
0
last 24 hours
3
last 7 days
7
last 30 days
5 before1 after
nowthis quake
Strongest of the sequence2.4

How often does it happen here?

about every ~4 months

Within 50 km of this epicentre, a magnitude ≥ 3 earthquake has occurred on average this often: 39 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.

13486.6
Alpi Giulie earthquake
25 January 1348 · 23 km from here
IX-XCompletely destructive: most buildings are destroyed.
19766.5
Friuli earthquake
6 May 1976 · 33 km from here
IX-XCompletely destructive: most buildings are destroyed.
15116.3
Friuli-Slovenia earthquake
26 March 1511 · 26 km from here
IXDestructive: many buildings partly or fully collapse.
16906.2
Carinthia, Villach earthquake
4 December 1690 · 46 km from here
VIII-IXDestructive: many buildings partly or fully collapse.

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

The closest seismic structure

Stol

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

estimated maximum magnitude 6.1between 1 and 7 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
14 km North of Pulfero
2 km North-West · 7 km
4 days ago
21 Aug, 17:16
1.3
14 km North of Pulfero
2 km North · 6 km
4 days ago
21 Aug, 04:26
2.4
2 km North of Torreano
17 km South-West · 13 km
23 days ago
2 Aug, 19:43
1.0
7 km East of Chiusaforte
15 km North-West · 8 km
23 days ago
2 Aug, 15:33
1.1
2 km South-East of Savogna
15 km South · 7 km
26 days ago
29 Jul, 22:33
1.0
4 km North-East of Torreano
16 km South-West · 10 km
28 days ago
28 Jul, 03:27

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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