All earthquakes
4.3
moderate
EARTHQUAKE DETAILS

3 km North-East of Rende

79 months ago · 24 Feb, 17:02

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. 15 of the year in ItalyStronger than 99% of Italian events in the past yearNo. 5 of the year in Calabria

Where

3 km North-East of RendeEarthquakes in the province of CosenzaEarthquakes in Calabria

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
    ≈ 71,000 people live in this area
  • up to ~27 km · felt by many people, especially on upper floors
    ≈ 336,000 people live in this area
  • up to ~61 km · felt only by some, at rest
    ≈ 926,000 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

24 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 ≈ 18 s

Animation sped up ~3× compared to reality.

  • Cosenza
    10 km from the epicentre
    first tremor in ~2 s
    main shaking in ~4 s
  • Corigliano-Rossano
    34 km from the epicentre
    first tremor in ~6 s
    main shaking in ~10 s
  • Lamezia Terme
    45 km from the epicentre
    first tremor in ~8 s
    main shaking in ~13 s
  • Catanzaro
    61 km from the epicentre
    first tremor in ~10 s
    main shaking in ~18 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

9 km
shallow
1 times the height of Mount Everest

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

shallower than the area average (~21 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 14 aftershocks 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
0
last 7 days
16
last 30 days
9 before14 after
this quake
Strongest of the sequence2.5

How often does it happen here?

about every ~16 months

Within 50 km of this epicentre, a magnitude ≥ 4 earthquake has occurred on average this often: 9 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.

16387.1
Calabria centrale earthquake
27 March 1638 · 35 km from here
XICatastrophic: very few buildings remain standing; landslides and ground cracks.
16386.8
Crotonese earthquake
8 June 1638 · 50 km from here
XCompletely destructive: most buildings are destroyed.
11846.8
Valle del Crati earthquake
24 May 1184 · 6 km from here
IXDestructive: many buildings partly or fully collapse.
18546.3
Cosentino earthquake
12 February 1854 · 13 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

Crati Valley

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

estimated maximum magnitude 6.6between 1 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

1.4
79 months ago
24 Feb, 19:01
0.6
3 km North-East of Rende
1 km North-West · 8 km
79 months ago
24 Feb, 21:14
0.5
79 months ago
25 Feb, 11:36
1.2
79 months ago
26 Feb, 00:20
1.4
4 km North of Rende
3 km North-West · 11 km
79 months ago
27 Feb, 00:35
1.4
79 months ago
1 Mar, 15:06
1.4
79 months ago
2 Mar, 11:45
1.1
79 months ago
2 Mar, 12:16
1.6
79 months ago
2 Mar, 12:34
1.2
79 months ago
2 Mar, 12:39

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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