Earthquakes in Chiavenna
Confine Italia-Svizzera (SVIZZERA)
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?
Medium-low seismicity: strong quakes are rare, but not impossible.
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 = 0.048 g (10% probability of exceedance in 50 years, rigid soil).
Why the ground rarely shakes here
Chiavenna 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 Chiavenna plus nearby towns.
The seismic history of Chiavenna
The earthquakes that were actually felt in Chiavenna over the centuries, with the intensity observed on site (Mercalli MCS scale).
- 1995IV29 October 1995
Moderate: felt by many indoors; glasses and dishes rattle.
Lago d'Iseo earthquake (M4.3), epicentre 75 km away
- 1991IV20 November 1991
Moderate: felt by many indoors; glasses and dishes rattle.
Grigioni, Vaz earthquake (M4.7), epicentre 46 km away
- 1927IV13 August 1927
Moderate: felt by many indoors; glasses and dishes rattle.
Alta Engadina earthquake (M4.4), epicentre 43 km away
- 1918F24 April 1918
Moderate: felt by many indoors; glasses and dishes rattle.
Lecchese earthquake (M5.0), epicentre 57 km away
- 1917IV9 December 1917
Moderate: felt by many indoors; glasses and dishes rattle.
Alta Engadina earthquake (M4.6), epicentre 33 km away
- 1914V27 October 1914
Rather strong: felt by almost everyone; hanging objects swing.
Lucchesia earthquake (M5.6), epicentre 284 km away
- 1909IV13 January 1909
Moderate: felt by many indoors; glasses and dishes rattle.
Emilia Romagna orientale earthquake (M5.4), epicentre 264 km away
- 1901IV30 October 1901
Moderate: felt by many indoors; glasses and dishes rattle.
Garda occidentale earthquake (M5.4), epicentre 118 km away
- 1891IV7 June 1891
Moderate: felt by many indoors; glasses and dishes rattle.
Valle d'Illasi earthquake (M5.9), epicentre 160 km away
- 1882IV27 February 1882
Moderate: felt by many indoors; glasses and dishes rattle.
Valle Seriana earthquake (M4.8), epicentre 64 km away
- 1851V5 February 1851
Rather strong: felt by almost everyone; hanging objects swing.
Valtellina earthquake (M4.7), epicentre 34 km away
- 1512VI8 February 1512
Strong: felt by everyone, many get scared; objects fall, first light damage to buildings.
Valchiavenna earthquake (M4.6), epicentre 0 km away
…and 7 more documented effects in this town's history.
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 62 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
60 eventsEarthquakes in the area
Nearby towns
How does it compare with the surroundings?
Chiavenna 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 Sondrio5 events · 30gLombardy region11 events · 30gFrequently asked questions
Were there earthquakes today in Chiavenna?
No, no quakes were recorded today in the Chiavenna area: the latest nearby dates back to 3 days ago.
Is Chiavenna a seismic area?
Chiavenna is classified in seismic zone 3 by the Civil Protection. Medium-low seismicity: strong quakes are rare, but not impossible.
What was the strongest earthquake near Chiavenna?
In the last ~12 years of INGV data, the strongest within 30 km of Chiavenna was magnitude 3.5, in 2016.
When was the last quake near Chiavenna?
The last quake recorded within 30 km of Chiavenna was 13 months ago.
Tip. Click a nearby town to explore its seismicity.
Data: INGV — National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (CC-BY 4.0)