All earthquakes
4.8
moderate
EARTHQUAKE DETAILS

6 km North-East of Visso

117 months ago · 1 Nov, 08:56

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

No. 4 of the year in ItalyStronger than 99% of Italian events in the past yearNo. 1 of the year in MarcheThe strongest of the past 12 months within 50 km

Where

6 km North-East of VissoEarthquakes in the province of MacerataEarthquakes in Marche

How far away could it be felt?

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

  • up to ~21 km · clearly felt by almost everyone
    ≈ 32,000 people live in this area
  • up to ~49 km · felt by many people, especially on upper floors
    ≈ 662,000 people live in this area
  • up to ~101 km · felt only by some, at rest
    ≈ 3.2m 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

61 events
Magnitude:lightweakmoderatestrong

The energy released

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

239tof TNT equivalent
1,000 lightning bolts
M3
×501 the energy of a magnitude 3 earthquake
M4this quakeM6

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 ≈ 19 s

Animation sped up ~4× compared to reality.

  • Foligno
    27 km from the epicentre
    first tremor in ~5 s
    main shaking in ~8 s
  • Teramo
    59 km from the epicentre
    first tremor in ~10 s
    main shaking in ~17 s
  • Terni
    60 km from the epicentre
    first tremor in ~10 s
    main shaking in ~17 s
  • Perugia
    65 km from the epicentre
    first tremor in ~11 s
    main shaking in ~19 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 (~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?

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)
14
last 24 hours
65
last 7 days
330
last 30 days
0 before2000 after
this quake
Strongest of the sequence3.9

How often does it happen here?

about every ~9 months

Within 50 km of this epicentre, a magnitude ≥ 4.5 earthquake has occurred on average this often: 15 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.

17036.9
Valnerina earthquake
14 January 1703 · 32 km from here
XICatastrophic: very few buildings remain standing; landslides and ground cracks.
20166.6
Valnerina earthquake
30 October 2016 · 18 km from here
XICatastrophic: very few buildings remain standing; landslides and ground cracks.
13286.5
Valnerina earthquake
1 December 1328 · 18 km from here
XCompletely destructive: most buildings are destroyed.
18326.4
Valle Umbra earthquake
13 January 1832 · 43 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

Muccia-Castelluccio di Norcia

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

estimated maximum magnitude 6.9between 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

2.0
5 km South-West of Ussita
10 km South · 12 km
116 months ago
23 Nov, 14:56
0.8
1 km South-West of Ussita
7 km South · 10 km
116 months ago
23 Nov, 15:06
1.1
7 km North of Norcia
17 km South · 8 km
116 months ago
23 Nov, 15:06
1.5
7 km South of Preci
22 km South-West · 11 km
116 months ago
23 Nov, 15:14
1.0
116 months ago
23 Nov, 15:26
2.3
5 km North-East of Pieve Torina
8 km North-West · 10 km
116 months ago
23 Nov, 15:34
1.2
3 km West of Arquata del Tronto
26 km South-East · 13 km
116 months ago
23 Nov, 15:37
1.3
2 km South-East of Norcia
26 km South · 17 km
116 months ago
23 Nov, 15:38
1.7
4 km North of Visso
4 km West · 13 km
116 months ago
23 Nov, 15:48
1.1
4 km North of Visso
4 km West · 12 km
116 months ago
23 Nov, 15:48

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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