All earthquakes
1.0
very light
EARTHQUAKE DETAILS

0 km West of Scigliano

72 months ago · 16 Sept, 17:27

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

Stronger than 30% of Italian events in the past year

Where

0 km West of SciglianoEarthquakes 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

42 events
Magnitude:lightweakmoderatestrong

The energy released

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

0.5kgof TNT equivalent
Less than the energy of a lightning bolt
M3
A magnitude 3 earthquake releases ×1,000 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 ≈ 17 s

Animation sped up ~3× compared to reality.

  • Cosenza
    18 km from the epicentre
    first tremor in ~4 s
    main shaking in ~7 s
  • Lamezia Terme
    19 km from the epicentre
    first tremor in ~4 s
    main shaking in ~7 s
  • Catanzaro
    36 km from the epicentre
    first tremor in ~7 s
    main shaking in ~11 s
  • Corigliano-Rossano
    57 km from the epicentre
    first tremor in ~10 s
    main shaking in ~17 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

17 km
medium depth
2 times the height of Mount Everest

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

in line with the area average (~17 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 (M1.9, 73 months ago) in the same area. Aftershocks are normal after an earthquake and tend to fade over time.

1.9
The mainshock
4 km North-West of Aprigliano
73 months ago · 8 Sept, 03:02
Activity in the area right now (30 km radius)
1
last 24 hours
4
last 7 days
20
last 30 days
29 before12 after
this quake
Strongest of the sequence1.9

How often does it happen here?

about every ~8 days

Within 50 km of this epicentre, a magnitude ≥ 2 earthquake has occurred on average this often: 547 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 · 9 km from here
XICatastrophic: very few buildings remain standing; landslides and ground cracks.
17837.0
Calabria centrale earthquake
28 March 1783 · 40 km from here
XICatastrophic: very few buildings remain standing; landslides and ground cracks.
19057.0
Calabria centrale earthquake
8 September 1905 · 44 km from here
X-XICatastrophic: very few buildings remain standing; landslides and ground cracks.
16386.8
Crotonese earthquake
8 June 1638 · 46 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

Savuto Valley

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

estimated maximum magnitude 7.1between 2 and 14 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

0.9
0 km East of Scigliano
1 km East · 17 km
72 months ago
16 Sept, 19:53
0.8
7 km East of Casali del Manco
30 km North-East · 9 km
72 months ago
17 Sept, 04:10
1.2
1 km North-East of Scigliano
1 km North-East · 14 km
72 months ago
18 Sept, 00:38
0.8
4 km North-West of Aprigliano
17 km North-East · 12 km
72 months ago
14 Sept, 20:39
1.5
2 km East of Spezzano della Sila
27 km North-East · 23 km
73 months ago
13 Sept, 14:06
1.2
4 km West of Feroleto Antico
18 km South · 9 km
72 months ago
20 Sept, 05:25
1.1
4 km South-East of Taverna
26 km East · 6 km
73 months ago
12 Sept, 00:34
0.8
4 km North-West of Aprigliano
16 km North-East · 13 km
73 months ago
10 Sept, 07:20
0.4
3 km East of Cicala
20 km South-East · 13 km
73 months ago
10 Sept, 04:38
1.3
7 km West of Amantea
26 km West · 22 km
72 months ago
23 Sept, 12:59

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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