Province of Varese

Earthquakes in Malnate

Low-seismicity area

No epicentres recorded in Malnate in our archive. Here is the seismicity of the area and its surroundings.

Seismic activity in the surroundings

30 km radius
1,163
days since the last quake nearby
5
quakes recorded since 2014
~2.3 years
on average, one quake every
2.4
The strongest within 30 km
1 km East of Novedrate
114 months ago · 29 Apr, 01:30

INGV catalogue epicentres of the last ~12 years, within the given radius from the town centre.

How seismic is this area?

Zone4
Seismic zone 4

The quietest class: the probability of strong earthquakes is very low.

Official Civil Protection classification (upd. 2025), used for building codes.

Very low
Expected shaking, compared with the other Italian municipalities (INGV MPS04 model)

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

Malnate 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.

0
In the town
total on record
0
In the town
last 12 months
0
In the area
last 12 months
Strongest ever
In the area

The “area” is Malnate plus nearby towns.

No earthquakes recorded in Malnate · 16,604 inhabitants

The seismic history of Malnate

The earthquakes that were actually felt in Malnate over the centuries, with the intensity observed on site (Mercalli MCS scale).

  1. 2008III23 December 2008

    Light: felt by few people, like a passing truck.

    Parmense earthquake (M5.4), epicentre 181 km away

  2. 2000II-III21 August 2000

    Light: felt by few people, like a passing truck.

    Monferrato earthquake (M4.9), epicentre 106 km away

  3. 1887III-IV23 February 1887

    Moderate: felt by many indoors; glasses and dishes rattle.

    Liguria occidentale earthquake (M6.3), epicentre 224 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.

13965.3
Monza earthquake
26 November 1396 · 39 km from here
VII-VIIIRuinous: partial collapses in ordinary buildings, widespread heavy damage.
19185.0
Lecchese earthquake
24 April 1918 · 45 km from here
VIStrong: felt by everyone, many get scared; objects fall, first light damage to buildings.
19184.6
Pianura lombarda earthquake
13 January 1918 · 39 km from here
IV-VRather strong: felt by almost everyone; hanging objects swing.
19934.3
Val d'Ossola earthquake
14 June 1993 · 50 km from here
V-VIStrong: felt by everyone, many get scared; objects fall, first light damage to buildings.

Source: Parametric Catalogue of Italian Earthquakes CPTI15 (INGV, CC BY 4.0).

The closest seismic structure

Western S-Alps internal thrust

The town lies about 40 km from Western S-Alps internal thrust, one of the seismic structures mapped by INGV geologists.

estimated maximum magnitude 6.9between 5 and 12 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).

Area over time

August 2026no events
Oct
Jan '25
Apr
Jul
Oct
Jan '26
Apr
Jul

Earthquake map

0 events
Magnitude:lightweakmoderatestrong

Earthquakes in the area

No events in the selected period.

Nearby towns

How does it compare with the surroundings?

Malnate is among the quietest towns of its province: very few epicentres are recorded here.

quietermore active
More epicentres than 0% of the 138 towns in the province.
Malnate0
Nearby towns average0

Each quake is attributed to the town closest to its epicentre: the numbers describe the area, not the municipal territory alone.

Context

Province of Varese0 events · 30gLombardy region11 events · 30g
ISTAT code: 012096

Frequently asked questions

Were there earthquakes today in Malnate?

No, no quakes were recorded today in the Malnate area.

Is Malnate a seismic area?

Malnate 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 Malnate?

In the last ~12 years of INGV data, the strongest within 30 km of Malnate was magnitude 2.4, in 2017.

When was the last quake near Malnate?

The last quake recorded within 30 km of Malnate was 39 months ago.

Tip. Click a nearby town to explore its seismicity.

Data: INGV — National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (CC-BY 4.0)

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