All earthquakes
0.8
very light
EARTHQUAKE DETAILS

M0.8 earthquake · 3 km North-East of Rose (CS)

4 years ago · 16 Oct 2021, 15:53

A very light earthquake, probably not felt by people. At only a few km deep the shaking is felt more sharply at the surface.

Stronger than 17% of Italian events in the past year

Where

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

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

32 events
Magnitude:lightweakmoderatestrong

The energy released

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

0.2kgof TNT equivalent
Less than the energy of a lightning bolt
M3
A magnitude 3 earthquake releases ×1,995 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 ≈ 18 s

Animation sped up ~3× compared to reality.

  • Cosenza
    17 km from the epicentre
    first tremor in ~3 s
    main shaking in ~5 s
  • Corigliano-Rossano
    24 km from the epicentre
    first tremor in ~4 s
    main shaking in ~7 s
  • Lamezia Terme
    52 km from the epicentre
    first tremor in ~9 s
    main shaking in ~15 s
  • Catanzaro
    63 km from the epicentre
    first tremor in ~11 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

8 km
shallow

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

shallower than the area average (~19 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, 5 years ago) in the same area. Aftershocks are normal after an earthquake and tend to fade over time.

2.2
The mainshock
4 km East of Rose
5 years ago · 11 Oct 2021, 08:42
Activity in the area right now (30 km radius)
0
last 24 hours
4
last 7 days
20
last 30 days
15 before16 after
this quake
Strongest of the sequence2.2

How often does it happen here?

about every ~9 days

Within 50 km of this epicentre, a magnitude ≥ 2 earthquake has occurred on average this often: 475 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 · 42 km from here
XICatastrophic: very few buildings remain standing; landslides and ground cracks.
16386.8
Crotonese earthquake
8 June 1638 · 44 km from here
XCompletely destructive: most buildings are destroyed.
11846.8
Valle del Crati earthquake
24 May 1184 · 12 km from here
IXDestructive: many buildings partly or fully collapse.
18546.3
Cosentino earthquake
12 February 1854 · 19 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 lies about 4 km from Crati Valley, one of the seismic structures mapped by INGV geologists.

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

1.2
3 km North-East of Rose
2 km South-East · 11 km
4 years ago
16 Oct 2021, 18:39
1.1
6 km North-East of Rose
3 km North-East · 10 km
4 years ago
15 Oct 2021, 17:55
1.7
2 km South-East of Paola
23 km West · 26 km
4 years ago
14 Oct 2021, 22:42
0.7
4 years ago
19 Oct 2021, 11:10
0.8
5 km North of Aprigliano
22 km South-East · 12 km
5 years ago
13 Oct 2021, 00:39
1.1
4 km North-East of Rose
3 km East · 13 km
5 years ago
12 Oct 2021, 14:18
1.2
7 km South-West of Acri
5 km North-East · 11 km
4 years ago
20 Oct 2021, 20:47
1.0
5 km South-West of Acri
7 km North-East · 10 km
4 years ago
20 Oct 2021, 20:48
1.1
4 km South of Acri
10 km East · 24 km
4 years ago
20 Oct 2021, 23:06
1.3
4 km East of Rose
3 km East · 12 km
5 years ago
11 Oct 2021, 21:16

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).