All earthquakes
2.7
light
EARTHQUAKE DETAILS

2 km South of Stroncone

115 months ago · 4 Mar, 19:52

A light earthquake, rarely felt by people. At only a few km deep the shaking is felt more sharply at the surface.

Stronger than 97% of Italian events in the past yearNo. 3 of the year in Umbria

Where

2 km South of StronconeEarthquakes in the province of TerniEarthquakes in Umbria

How far away could it be felt?

An estimate of how far people may have felt this quake.

  • up to ~2 km · felt only by some, at rest
    ≈ 5,000 people live in this area

The coloured rings on the map below show these distances.

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

47 events
Magnitude:lightweakmoderatestrong

The energy released

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

169kgof TNT equivalent
Less than the energy of a lightning bolt
M3
A magnitude 3 earthquake releases ×2.8 its energy
M2this quakeM4

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.

  • Terni
    13 km from the epicentre
    first tremor in ~3 s
    main shaking in ~5 s
  • Viterbo
    46 km from the epicentre
    first tremor in ~8 s
    main shaking in ~13 s
  • Guidonia Montecelio
    54 km from the epicentre
    first tremor in ~9 s
    main shaking in ~16 s
  • Tivoli
    57 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

9 km
shallow
1 times the height of Mount Everest

At only a few km deep the shaking is felt more sharply at the surface.

in line with the area average (~11 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 (M3.7, 116 months ago) in the same area. Aftershocks are normal after an earthquake and tend to fade over time.

3.7
The mainshock
8 km South of Spoleto
116 months ago · 9 Feb, 10:58
Activity in the area right now (30 km radius)
1
last 24 hours
6
last 7 days
36
last 30 days
31 before15 after
this quake
Strongest of the sequence3.7

How often does it happen here?

about every ~11 days

Within 50 km of this epicentre, a magnitude ≥ 2.5 earthquake has occurred on average this often: 379 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.

17036.9
Valnerina earthquake
14 January 1703 · 44 km from here
XICatastrophic: very few buildings remain standing; landslides and ground cracks.
13496.3
Appennino laziale-abruzzese earthquake
9 September 1349 · 44 km from here
IXDestructive: many buildings partly or fully collapse.
12986.3
Monti Reatini earthquake
1 December 1298 · 24 km from here
XCompletely destructive: most buildings are destroyed.
15996.1
Valnerina earthquake
6 November 1599 · 42 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

Mugello-Citta' di Castello-Leonessa

The epicentre lies about 23 km from Mugello-Citta' di Castello-Leonessa, one of the seismic structures mapped by INGV geologists.

estimated maximum magnitude 6.9between 1 and 8 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
115 months ago
4 Mar, 21:03
1.1
2 km North-West of Greccio
8 km East · 16 km
115 months ago
4 Mar, 04:50
1.3
7 km South of Spoleto
23 km North · 9 km
115 months ago
3 Mar, 11:50
1.9
1 km South-West of Stroncone
1 km North · 10 km
115 months ago
3 Mar, 05:49
2.4
116 months ago
28 Feb, 22:18
0.8
4 km North-West of Ferentillo
22 km North-East · 5 km
115 months ago
11 Mar, 15:27
1.2
7 km North-West of Ferentillo
25 km North-East · 9 km
116 months ago
25 Feb, 21:51
1.5
5 km South-West of Leonessa
28 km East · 17 km
116 months ago
25 Feb, 15:37
1.6
4 km North of Stroncone
6 km North · 9 km
116 months ago
23 Feb, 07:06
1.1
4 km West of Stroncone
4 km West · 9 km
116 months ago
23 Feb, 07:01

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).

We use cookies to analyse site traffic and improve your experience.

Privacy PolicyCookie Policy