Earthquakes in Porto Ceresio
No epicentres recorded in Porto Ceresio in our archive. Here is the seismicity of the area and its surroundings.
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 = 0.038 g (10% probability of exceedance in 50 years, rigid soil).
Why the ground rarely shakes here
Porto Ceresio 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 Porto Ceresio plus nearby towns.
The seismic history of Porto Ceresio
The earthquakes that were actually felt in Porto Ceresio over the centuries, with the intensity observed on site (Mercalli MCS scale).
- 2008III-IV23 December 2008
Moderate: felt by many indoors; glasses and dishes rattle.
Parmense earthquake (M5.4), epicentre 189 km away
- 1993NF14 June 1993
Imperceptible: only instruments record it.
Val d'Ossola earthquake (M4.3), epicentre 49 km away
- 1991NF20 November 1991
Imperceptible: only instruments record it.
Grigioni, Vaz earthquake (M4.7), epicentre 103 km away
- 1887III23 February 1887
Light: felt by few people, like a passing truck.
Liguria occidentale earthquake (M6.3), epicentre 236 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 41 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
0 eventsEarthquakes in the area
Nearby towns
How does it compare with the surroundings?
Porto Ceresio 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 Varese0 events · 30gLombardy region11 events · 30gFrequently asked questions
Were there earthquakes today in Porto Ceresio?
No, no quakes were recorded today in the Porto Ceresio area.
Is Porto Ceresio a seismic area?
Porto Ceresio 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 Porto Ceresio?
In the last ~12 years of INGV data, the strongest within 30 km of Porto Ceresio was magnitude 2.5, in 2024.
When was the last quake near Porto Ceresio?
The last quake recorded within 30 km of Porto Ceresio was 24 months ago.
Tip. Click a nearby town to explore its seismicity.
Data: INGV — National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (CC-BY 4.0)