Earthquakes in Pareto
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 = 0.052 g (10% probability of exceedance in 50 years, rigid soil).
Why the ground rarely shakes here
Pareto 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 Pareto plus nearby towns.
The seismic history of Pareto
The earthquakes that were actually felt in Pareto over the centuries, with the intensity observed on site (Mercalli MCS scale).
- 2001IV-V18 July 2001
Rather strong: felt by almost everyone; hanging objects swing.
Monferrato earthquake (M4.2), epicentre 31 km away
- 2000IV-V21 August 2000
Rather strong: felt by almost everyone; hanging objects swing.
Monferrato earthquake (M4.9), epicentre 44 km away
- 1993III-IV17 July 1993
Moderate: felt by many indoors; glasses and dishes rattle.
Liguria occidentale earthquake (M4.3), epicentre 38 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 37 km from Imperia Promontory, 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
41 eventsEarthquakes in the area
Nearby towns
How does it compare with the surroundings?
Pareto records more quakes than the average of its province.
Each quake is attributed to the town closest to its epicentre: the numbers describe the area, not the municipal territory alone.
Context
Province of Alessandria0 events · 30gPiedmont region34 events · 30gFrequently asked questions
Were there earthquakes today in Pareto?
No, no quakes were recorded today in the Pareto area: the latest nearby dates back to 1 month ago.
Is Pareto a seismic area?
Pareto 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 Pareto?
In the last ~12 years of INGV data, the strongest within 30 km of Pareto was magnitude 3.1, in 2015.
When was the last quake near Pareto?
The last quake recorded within 30 km of Pareto was 1 month ago.
Tip. Click a nearby town to explore its seismicity.
Data: INGV — National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (CC-BY 4.0)