All earthquakes
1.9
very light
EARTHQUAKE DETAILS

10 km North-East of San Giorgio Albanese

21 months ago · 1 Dec, 21:00

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

Stronger than 85% of Italian events in the past year

Where

10 km North-East of San Giorgio AlbaneseEarthquakes 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

9 events
Magnitude:lightweakmoderatestrong

The energy released

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

11kgof TNT equivalent
Less than the energy of a lightning bolt
M3
A magnitude 3 earthquake releases ×45 its energy
M1this quakeM3

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 ≈ 24 s

Animation sped up ~5× compared to reality.

  • Corigliano-Rossano
    11 km from the epicentre
    first tremor in ~4 s
    main shaking in ~6 s
  • Cosenza
    50 km from the epicentre
    first tremor in ~9 s
    main shaking in ~15 s
  • Crotone
    78 km from the epicentre
    first tremor in ~13 s
    main shaking in ~23 s
  • Lamezia Terme
    83 km from the epicentre
    first tremor in ~14 s
    main shaking in ~24 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

19 km
medium depth
2.2 times the height of Mount Everest

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

in line with the area average (~18 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 (M2.3, 22 months ago) in the same area. Aftershocks are normal after an earthquake and tend to fade over time.

2.3
The mainshock
7 km North-East of Crosia
22 months ago · 8 Nov, 19:00
Activity in the area right now (30 km radius)
2
last 24 hours
3
last 7 days
7
last 30 days
6 before2 after
this quake
Strongest of the sequence2.3

How often does it happen here?

about every ~13 days

Within 50 km of this epicentre, a magnitude ≥ 2 earthquake has occurred on average this often: 321 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.

16386.8
Crotonese earthquake
8 June 1638 · 49 km from here
XCompletely destructive: most buildings are destroyed.
11846.8
Valle del Crati earthquake
24 May 1184 · 44 km from here
IXDestructive: many buildings partly or fully collapse.
18366.2
Calabria settentrionale earthquake
25 April 1836 · 20 km from here
XCompletely destructive: most buildings are destroyed.
18355.9
Cosentino earthquake
12 October 1835 · 44 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

Cecita Lake

The epicentre lies about 13 km from Cecita Lake, 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

1.0
5 km South-West of Acri
27 km South-West · 13 km
21 months ago
27 Nov, 04:07
1.5
12 km South-East of Trebisacce
14 km North · 10 km
21 months ago
10 Dec, 16:23
0.5
21 months ago
14 Dec, 06:37
1.4
22 months ago
11 Nov, 22:19
2.3
7 km North-East of Crosia
23 km East · 23 km
22 months ago
8 Nov, 19:00
1.5
9 km East of Acri
19 km South · 11 km
22 months ago
7 Nov, 18:29
1.1
2 km South-West of Longobucco
27 km South · 34 km
22 months ago
5 Nov, 18:57
0.6
22 months ago
3 Nov, 02:10

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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