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2.4
light
EARTHQUAKE DETAILS

4 km East of Verucchio

116 months ago · 4 Feb, 14:47

A light earthquake, rarely felt by people. Being deep, it is felt less at the surface.

Stronger than 94% of Italian events in the past year

Where

4 km East of VerucchioEarthquakes in the province of RiminiEarthquakes in Emilia-Romagna

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

2 events
Magnitude:lightweakmoderatestrong

The energy released

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

60kgof TNT equivalent
Less than the energy of a lightning bolt
M3
A magnitude 3 earthquake releases ×7.9 its energy
M1this quakeM3

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.

  • Rimini
    10 km from the epicentre
    first tremor in ~6 s
    main shaking in ~11 s
  • Cesena
    25 km from the epicentre
    first tremor in ~7 s
    main shaking in ~13 s
  • Pesaro
    31 km from the epicentre
    first tremor in ~8 s
    main shaking in ~14 s
  • Forlì
    44 km from the epicentre
    first tremor in ~9 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

36 km
deep
4 times the height of Mount Everest

Being deep, it is felt less at the surface.

deeper than the area average (~13 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)
1
last 24 hours
4
last 7 days
6
last 30 days
1 before0 after
this quake
Strongest of the sequence1.3

How often does it happen here?

about every ~10 days

Within 50 km of this epicentre, a magnitude ≥ 2 earthquake has occurred on average this often: 422 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 · 40 km from here
XCompletely destructive: most buildings are destroyed.
16616.0
Appennino forlivese earthquake
22 March 1661 · 46 km from here
XCompletely destructive: most buildings are destroyed.
13896.0
Alta Valtiberina earthquake
18 October 1389 · 49 km from here
IXDestructive: many buildings partly or fully collapse.
17686.0
Appennino forlivese earthquake
19 October 1768 · 45 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

Riminese onshore

The epicentre lies about 2 km from Riminese onshore, one of the seismic structures mapped by INGV geologists.

estimated maximum magnitude 7.0between 2 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

1.3
2 km West of Gambettola
21 km North-West · 22 km
117 months ago
8 Jan, 21:30

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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