Earthquakes in Porlezza
Seismic activity in the surroundings
30 km radiusINGV catalogue epicentres of the last ~12 years, within the given radius from the town centre.
How seismic is this area?
The quietest class: the probability of strong earthquakes is very low.
Official Civil Protection classification (upd. 2025), used for building codes.
Hazard describes the long-term expected shaking: it is not a forecast. Technical value: ag = 0.039 g (10% probability of exceedance in 50 years, rigid soil).
Why the ground rarely shakes here
Porlezza sits in one of the most stable areas of Italy: far from the boundary between the Eurasian and African plates, on ancient, rigid crust that hardly accumulates tectonic stress any more.
That is why earthquakes here are rare and almost always weak: a small geological privilege.
The “area” is Porlezza plus nearby towns.
The seismic history of Porlezza
The earthquakes that were actually felt in Porlezza over the centuries, with the intensity observed on site (Mercalli MCS scale).
- 2002NF13 November 2002
Imperceptible: only instruments record it.
Franciacorta earthquake (M4.2), epicentre 90 km away
- 1991III20 November 1991
Light: felt by few people, like a passing truck.
Grigioni, Vaz earthquake (M4.7), epicentre 84 km away
- 1917IV9 December 1917
Moderate: felt by many indoors; glasses and dishes rattle.
Alta Engadina earthquake (M4.6), epicentre 70 km away
- 1887III23 February 1887
Light: felt by few people, like a passing truck.
Liguria occidentale earthquake (M6.3), epicentre 254 km away
Source: Italian Macroseismic Database DBMI15 (INGV, CC BY 4.0).
The great earthquakes in this area's history
Almost a thousand years of catalogues: the strongest documented events within ~50 km.
Source: Parametric Catalogue of Italian Earthquakes CPTI15 (INGV, CC BY 4.0).
The closest seismic structure
The town lies about 36 km from Western S-Alps internal thrust, one of the seismic structures mapped by INGV geologists.
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).
Area over time
Earthquake map
7 eventsEarthquakes in the area
Nearby towns
How does it compare with the surroundings?
Porlezza is among the quietest towns of its province: very few epicentres are recorded here.
Each quake is attributed to the town closest to its epicentre: the numbers describe the area, not the municipal territory alone.
Context
Province of Como0 events · 30gLombardy region11 events · 30gFrequently asked questions
Were there earthquakes today in Porlezza?
No, no quakes were recorded today in the Porlezza area: the latest nearby dates back to 18 months ago.
Is Porlezza a seismic area?
Porlezza is classified in seismic zone 4 by the Civil Protection. The quietest class: the probability of strong earthquakes is very low.
What was the strongest earthquake near Porlezza?
In the last ~12 years of INGV data, the strongest within 30 km of Porlezza was magnitude 2.7, in 2020.
When was the last quake near Porlezza?
The last quake recorded within 30 km of Porlezza was 16 months ago.
Tip. Click a nearby town to explore its seismicity.
Data: INGV — National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (CC-BY 4.0)