All earthquakes
1.2
very light
EARTHQUAKE DETAILS

1 km North-East of Scigliano

72 months ago · 18 Sept, 00:38

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

Stronger than 47% of Italian events in the past year

Where

1 km North-East 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

44 events
Magnitude:lightweakmoderatestrong

The energy released

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

1.0kgof TNT equivalent
Less than the energy of a lightning bolt
M3
A magnitude 3 earthquake releases ×501 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 ≈ 16 s

Animation sped up ~3× compared to reality.

  • Cosenza
    17 km from the epicentre
    first tremor in ~4 s
    main shaking in ~6 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 ~6 s
    main shaking in ~11 s
  • Corigliano-Rossano
    56 km from the epicentre
    first tremor in ~10 s
    main shaking in ~16 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

14 km
medium depth
1.5 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)
0
last 24 hours
4
last 7 days
21
last 30 days
34 before9 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: 555 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 · 10 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 · 45 km from here
X-XICatastrophic: very few buildings remain standing; landslides and ground cracks.
16386.8
Crotonese earthquake
8 June 1638 · 45 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

1.6
72 months ago
17 Sept, 16:13
0.8
7 km East of Casali del Manco
29 km North-East · 9 km
72 months ago
17 Sept, 04:10
0.9
0 km East of Scigliano
1 km South · 17 km
72 months ago
16 Sept, 19:53
1.0
0 km West of Scigliano
1 km South-West · 17 km
72 months ago
16 Sept, 17:27
1.2
4 km West of Feroleto Antico
19 km South · 9 km
72 months ago
20 Sept, 05:25
0.8
4 km North-West of Aprigliano
16 km North-East · 12 km
73 months ago
14 Sept, 20:39
1.5
2 km East of Spezzano della Sila
26 km North-East · 23 km
73 months ago
13 Sept, 14:06
1.3
7 km West of Amantea
27 km West · 22 km
72 months ago
23 Sept, 12:59
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
15 km North-East · 13 km
73 months ago
10 Sept, 07:20

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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