Province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola

Earthquakes in Aurano

1.8
very light
LATEST QUAKE

4 km South-West of Malesco

4 months ago · 24 Feb, 23:38
Depth 11 km

Seismic activity in the surroundings

30 km radius
108
days since the last quake nearby
23
quakes recorded since 2015
~6 months
on average, one quake every
2.3
The strongest within 30 km
1 km North of Pallanzeno
47 months ago · 26 Jul, 13:20

INGV catalogue epicentres of the last ~11 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 = 0.046 g (10% probability of exceedance in 50 years, rigid soil).

Why the ground rarely shakes here

Aurano 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.

Closest earthquake
Go to Malesco Earthquake details
0
In the town
total on record
0
In the town
last 12 months
1
In the area
last 12 months
M1.8
Strongest ever
In the area

The “area” is Aurano plus nearby towns.

No earthquakes recorded in Aurano · 103 inhabitants

The seismic history of Aurano

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

  1. 1887III-IV23 February 1887

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

    Liguria occidentale earthquake (M6.3), epicentre 241 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.

19934.3
Val d'Ossola earthquake
14 June 1993 · 24 km from here
V-VIStrong: felt by everyone, many get scared; objects fall, first light damage to buildings.
19514.3
Vallemaggia, Cevio earthquake
16 May 1951 · 33 km from here
19234.3
Ticino, Bellinzona earthquake
9 November 1923 · 39 km from here
18914.0
Val d'Ossola earthquake
20 December 1891 · 30 km from here
VRather strong: felt by almost everyone; hanging objects swing.

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

The closest seismic structure

Western Valais

The town lies about 57 km from Western Valais, one of the seismic structures mapped by INGV geologists.

estimated maximum magnitude 7.0between 3 and 15 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

February 20261eventmax 1.8
Jul
Oct
Jan '25
Apr
Jul
Oct
Jan '26
Apr

Earthquake map

8 events
Magnitude:lightweakmoderatestrong

Earthquakes in the area

1.8
4 km South-West of Malesco
11 km West · 11 km
4 months ago
24 Feb, 23:38
0.9
5 km South-West of Malesco
12 km West · 10 km
20 months ago
22 Oct, 23:20
0.7
2 km West of Malesco
12 km North-West · 11 km
32 months ago
29 Oct, 19:52
0.8
3 km West of Malesco
14 km North-West · 11 km
76 months ago
31 Mar, 17:17
1.2
4 km South-West of Malesco
13 km West · 13 km
122 months ago
12 Jun, 13:45
1.8
4 km West of Malesco
15 km North-West · 17 km
123 months ago
22 May, 00:59
1.4
4 km South of Malesco
9 km West · 10 km
133 months ago
8 Jul, 11:52
1.0
3 km North-East of Malesco
11 km North-West · 10 km
136 months ago
19 Apr, 02:35

Nearby towns

How does it compare with the surroundings?

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

quietermore active
More epicentres than 0% of the 74 towns in the province.
Aurano0
Nearby towns average0.7

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

Context

Province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola1 events · 30gPiedmont region34 events · 30g
ISTAT code: 103005

Frequently asked questions

Were there earthquakes today in Aurano?

No, no quakes were recorded today in the Aurano area: the latest nearby dates back to 4 months ago.

Is Aurano a seismic area?

Aurano 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 Aurano?

In the last ~11 years of INGV data, the strongest within 30 km of Aurano was magnitude 2.3, in 2022.

When was the last quake near Aurano?

The last quake recorded within 30 km of Aurano was 4 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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