All earthquakes
0.8
very light
EARTHQUAKE DETAILS

4 km East of San Marco in Lamis

67 months ago · 22 Feb, 04:51

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

Stronger than 16% of Italian events in the past year

Where

4 km East of San Marco in LamisEarthquakes in the province of FoggiaEarthquakes in Puglia

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

22 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 ≈ 11 s

Animation sped up ~2× compared to reality.

  • Manfredonia
    10 km from the epicentre
    first tremor in ~3 s
    main shaking in ~5 s
  • Foggia
    14 km from the epicentre
    first tremor in ~3 s
    main shaking in ~6 s
  • San Severo
    18 km from the epicentre
    first tremor in ~4 s
    main shaking in ~7 s
  • Cerignola
    34 km from the epicentre
    first tremor in ~6 s
    main shaking in ~11 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

15 km
medium depth
1.6 times the height of Mount Everest

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

in line with the area average (~14 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, 68 months ago) in the same area. Aftershocks are normal after an earthquake and tend to fade over time.

2.2
The mainshock
5 km South of San Marco in Lamis
68 months ago · 5 Feb, 08:52
Activity in the area right now (30 km radius)
0
last 24 hours
3
last 7 days
10
last 30 days
9 before12 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: 462 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.

16466.7
Gargano earthquake
31 May 1646 · 46 km from here
XCompletely destructive: most buildings are destroyed.
16276.7
Capitanata earthquake
30 July 1627 · 37 km from here
XCompletely destructive: most buildings are destroyed.
17316.3
Tavoliere delle Puglie earthquake
20 March 1731 · 31 km from here
IXDestructive: many buildings partly or fully collapse.
16276.0
Capitanata earthquake
7 August 1627 · 39 km from here
IXDestructive: many buildings partly or fully collapse.

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

The closest seismic structure

San Marco in Lamis-Mattinata

The epicentre lies about 17 km from San Marco in Lamis-Mattinata, one of the seismic structures mapped by INGV geologists.

estimated maximum magnitude 7.0between 0 and 25 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

0.8
5 km South of San Giovanni Rotondo
11 km North-East · 1 km
67 months ago
22 Feb, 10:31
1.2
9 km North of San Giovanni Rotondo
23 km North-East · 22 km
67 months ago
21 Feb, 20:30
1.3
67 months ago
24 Feb, 12:03
0.9
9 km East of Foggia
9 km South · 10 km
67 months ago
27 Feb, 02:48
0.7
6 km South-West of Monte Sant'Angelo
25 km North-East · 23 km
68 months ago
16 Feb, 20:22
1.4
8 km North-East of Rignano Garganico
21 km North-West · 22 km
67 months ago
3 Mar, 10:40
0.8
67 months ago
3 Mar, 11:07
1.3
68 months ago
12 Feb, 18:45
1.1
10 km North-East of Troia
25 km South-West · 8 km
67 months ago
3 Mar, 22:20
1.8
68 months ago
9 Feb, 15:29

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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