All earthquakes
1.0
very light
EARTHQUAKE DETAILS

2 km South-West of Sigillo

35 months ago · 3 Aug, 19:24

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 30% of Italian events in the past year

Where

2 km South-West of SigilloEarthquakes in the province of PerugiaEarthquakes in Umbria

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

61 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 ≈ 18 s

Animation sped up ~3× compared to reality.

  • Foligno
    38 km from the epicentre
    first tremor in ~6 s
    main shaking in ~11 s
  • Perugia
    39 km from the epicentre
    first tremor in ~7 s
    main shaking in ~11 s
  • Fano
    58 km from the epicentre
    first tremor in ~10 s
    main shaking in ~17 s
  • Pesaro
    61 km from the epicentre
    first tremor in ~10 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.

in line with the area average (~10 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 (M2.5, 36 months ago) in the same area. Aftershocks are normal after an earthquake and tend to fade over time.

2.5
The mainshock
9 km East of Gualdo Tadino
36 months ago · 10 Jul, 08:53
Activity in the area right now (30 km radius)
10
last 24 hours
40
last 7 days
155
last 30 days
174 before179 after
this quake
Strongest of the sequence2.5

How often does it happen here?

about every ~1 days

Within 50 km of this epicentre, a magnitude ≥ 2 earthquake has occurred on average this often: 3740 events in the last 11 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.

17816.5
Cagliese earthquake
3 June 1781 · 36 km from here
XCompletely destructive: most buildings are destroyed.
18326.4
Valle Umbra earthquake
13 January 1832 · 39 km from here
XCompletely destructive: most buildings are destroyed.
17516.4
Appennino umbro-marchigiano earthquake
27 July 1751 · 10 km from here
XCompletely destructive: most buildings are destroyed.
12796.2
Appennino umbro-marchigiano earthquake
30 April 1279 · 27 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

Piandimeleto-Bavareto

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

estimated maximum magnitude 7.1between 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

0.9
2 km North of Sigillo
4 km North · 14 km
35 months ago
3 Aug, 17:08
0.9
5 km East of Genga
23 km East · 8 km
35 months ago
3 Aug, 22:15
1.2
2 km North of Sigillo
4 km North · 13 km
35 months ago
3 Aug, 16:14
0.5
8 km North-West of Gubbio
21 km West · 5 km
35 months ago
4 Aug, 02:02
0.2
35 months ago
4 Aug, 04:41
1.1
9 km North-West of Valfabbrica
19 km South-West · 9 km
35 months ago
3 Aug, 00:39
1.1
5 km West of Costacciaro
9 km North-West · 11 km
35 months ago
3 Aug, 00:24
0.8
4 km West of Serra San Quirico
24 km North-East · 1 km
35 months ago
4 Aug, 15:18
0.8
9 km North-West of Gubbio
22 km West · 9 km
35 months ago
4 Aug, 15:43
0.8
7 km West of Cantiano
22 km North-West · 11 km
35 months ago
4 Aug, 16:04

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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