All earthquakes
2.7
light
EARTHQUAKE DETAILS

6 km North-West of Valfabbrica

127 months ago · 23 Jan, 13:20

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. 2 of the year in Umbria

Where

6 km North-West of ValfabbricaEarthquakes in the province of PerugiaEarthquakes 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

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

61 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 ≈ 20 s

Animation sped up ~4× compared to reality.

  • Perugia
    25 km from the epicentre
    first tremor in ~4 s
    main shaking in ~8 s
  • Foligno
    32 km from the epicentre
    first tremor in ~6 s
    main shaking in ~10 s
  • Arezzo
    61 km from the epicentre
    first tremor in ~10 s
    main shaking in ~18 s
  • Fano
    70 km from the epicentre
    first tremor in ~12 s
    main shaking in ~20 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 (~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 (M2.9, 127 months ago) in the same area. Aftershocks are normal after an earthquake and tend to fade over time.

2.9
The mainshock
3 km North of Scheggia e Pascelupo
127 months ago · 8 Jan, 07:27
Activity in the area right now (30 km radius)
2
last 24 hours
30
last 7 days
133
last 30 days
131 before126 after
this quake
Strongest of the sequence2.9

How often does it happen here?

about every ~4 days

Within 50 km of this epicentre, a magnitude ≥ 2.5 earthquake has occurred on average this often: 933 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.

17816.5
Cagliese earthquake
3 June 1781 · 41 km from here
XCompletely destructive: most buildings are destroyed.
18326.4
Valle Umbra earthquake
13 January 1832 · 28 km from here
XCompletely destructive: most buildings are destroyed.
17516.4
Appennino umbro-marchigiano earthquake
27 July 1751 · 11 km from here
XCompletely destructive: most buildings are destroyed.
13526.3
Alta Valtiberina earthquake
25 December 1352 · 47 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

Gubbio Basin

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

estimated maximum magnitude 7.0between 2 and 7 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

1.2
127 months ago
23 Jan, 13:21
1.1
6 km North-West of Valfabbrica
1 km South-East · 10 km
127 months ago
23 Jan, 13:22
2.2
127 months ago
23 Jan, 13:16
1.2
6 km North-West of Valfabbrica
0 km South-West · 10 km
127 months ago
23 Jan, 13:24
1.0
127 months ago
23 Jan, 13:27
0.8
127 months ago
23 Jan, 14:21
1.1
6 km North-West of Valfabbrica
1 km South-West · 9 km
127 months ago
23 Jan, 15:02
0.9
6 km North-West of Valfabbrica
1 km South-West · 9 km
127 months ago
23 Jan, 15:03
1.4
127 months ago
23 Jan, 15:33
0.9
6 km North-West of Valfabbrica
1 km South-West · 10 km
127 months ago
23 Jan, 15:41

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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