Earthquakes in Mergozzo
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 = 0.050 g (10% probability of exceedance in 50 years, rigid soil).
Why the ground rarely shakes here
Mergozzo 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 Mergozzo plus nearby towns.
The seismic history of Mergozzo
The earthquakes that were actually felt in Mergozzo over the centuries, with the intensity observed on site (Mercalli MCS scale).
- 1993IV14 June 1993
Moderate: felt by many indoors; glasses and dishes rattle.
Val d'Ossola earthquake (M4.3), epicentre 12 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 50 km from Western Valais, 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
6 eventsEarthquakes in the area
Nearby towns
How does it compare with the surroundings?
Mergozzo 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 Verbano-Cusio-Ossola2 events · 30gPiedmont region34 events · 30gFrequently asked questions
Were there earthquakes today in Mergozzo?
No, no quakes were recorded today in the Mergozzo area: the latest nearby dates back to 22 months ago.
Is Mergozzo a seismic area?
Mergozzo 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 Mergozzo?
In the last ~12 years of INGV data, the strongest within 30 km of Mergozzo was magnitude 2.3, in 2022.
When was the last quake near Mergozzo?
The last quake recorded within 30 km of Mergozzo was 2 months ago.
Tip. Click a nearby town to explore its seismicity.
Data: INGV — National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (CC-BY 4.0)