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3.8
weak
EARTHQUAKE DETAILS

Tirreno Meridionale [Mare]

70 months ago · 6 Dec, 02:49

A weak earthquake, felt by some of the population. Being deep, it is felt less at the surface.

No. 5 of the month in ItalyStronger than 99% of Italian events in the past yearNo. 1 of the year in Lazio

Where

Tirreno Meridionale [Mare]Earthquakes in the province of LatinaEarthquakes in Lazio

Epicentre at sea

The epicentre is at sea: for the same magnitude, the shaking is felt less on land, because the energy fades along the way before reaching the coast.

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

1 events
Magnitude:lightweakmoderatestrong

The energy released

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

7.6tof TNT equivalent
32 lightning bolts
M3
×16 the energy of a magnitude 3 earthquake
M3this quakeM5

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 ≈ 141 s

Animation sped up ~26× compared to reality.

  • Pozzuoli
    123 km from the epicentre
    first tremor in ~82 s
    main shaking in ~141 s
  • Napoli
    128 km from the epicentre
    first tremor in ~82 s
    main shaking in ~141 s
  • Marano di Napoli
    130 km from the epicentre
    first tremor in ~83 s
    main shaking in ~141 s
  • Giugliano in Campania
    131 km from the epicentre
    first tremor in ~83 s
    main shaking in ~141 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

477 km
deep
54 times the height of Mount Everest

Being deep, it is felt less at the surface.

deeper than the area average (~229 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?

Isolated quake

In the 30 days around this event no other quakes were recorded within 30 km: a one-off episode, very common in Italy.

Activity in the area right now (30 km radius)
0
last 24 hours
0
last 7 days
0
last 30 days

No other quakes within 30 km in the 30 days around the event.

How often does it happen here?

about every ~5.8 years

Within 50 km of this epicentre, a magnitude ≥ 3.5 earthquake has occurred on average this often: 2 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.

19965.3
Tirreno centrale earthquake
21 December 1996 · 11 km from here
20105.2
Tirreno meridionale earthquake
3 November 2010 · 8 km from here
19854.8
Tirreno meridionale earthquake
19 July 1985 · 37 km from here
20054.5
Tirreno meridionale earthquake
26 July 2005 · 39 km from here

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

The closest seismic structure

Ischia

The epicentre lies about 98 km from Ischia, one of the seismic structures mapped by INGV geologists.

estimated maximum magnitude 5.4between 0 and 4 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).

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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