Province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola

Earthquakes in San Bernardino Verbano

1.2
very light
LATEST QUAKE

1 km East of Malesco

2 months ago · 9 Jul, 06:48
Depth 21 km

Seismic activity in the surroundings

30 km radius
47
days since the last quake nearby
41
quakes recorded since 2014
~3 months
on average, one quake every
2.3
The strongest within 30 km
1 km North of Pallanzeno
50 months ago · 26 Jul, 13:20

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.

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 = 0.050 g (10% probability of exceedance in 50 years, rigid soil).

Why the ground rarely shakes here

San Bernardino Verbano 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
3
In the area
last 12 months
M1.8
Strongest ever
In the area

The “area” is San Bernardino Verbano plus nearby towns.

No earthquakes recorded in San Bernardino Verbano · 1,384 inhabitants

The seismic history of San Bernardino Verbano

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

  1. 1993III14 June 1993

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

    Val d'Ossola earthquake (M4.3), epicentre 14 km away · observed at San Bernardino Verbano (Santino)

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.

18555.0
Vallese, Stalden-Visp earthquake
6 November 1855 · 50 km from here
18814.6
Vallese, Brig earthquake
3 March 1881 · 50 km from here
19934.3
Val d'Ossola earthquake
14 June 1993 · 14 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 · 38 km from here

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

The closest seismic structure

Western Valais

The town lies about 50 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

July 20262eventsmax 1.2
Oct
Jan '25
Apr
Jul
Oct
Jan '26
Apr
Jul

Earthquake map

13 events
Magnitude:lightweakmoderatestrong

Earthquakes in the area

1.2
1 km East of Malesco
10 km North · 21 km
2 months ago
9 Jul, 06:48
1.2
1 km East of Malesco
10 km North · 21 km
2 months ago
9 Jul, 06:48
1.8
4 km South-West of Malesco
7 km North · 11 km
6 months ago
24 Feb, 23:38
0.7
22 months ago
2 Nov, 07:38
0.9
5 km South-West of Malesco
7 km North-West · 10 km
22 months ago
22 Oct, 23:20
0.7
2 km West of Malesco
10 km North · 11 km
34 months ago
29 Oct, 19:52
1.3
1 km East of Trontano
12 km North-West · 14 km
44 months ago
11 Jan, 11:47
1.8
49 months ago
24 Aug, 09:27
0.8
3 km West of Malesco
11 km North · 11 km
78 months ago
31 Mar, 17:17
1.2
4 km South-West of Malesco
9 km North-West · 13 km
124 months ago
12 Jun, 13:45

Nearby towns

How does it compare with the surroundings?

San Bernardino Verbano 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.
San Bernardino Verbano0
Nearby towns average1.1

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 · 30g
ISTAT code: 103061

Frequently asked questions

Were there earthquakes today in San Bernardino Verbano?

No, no quakes were recorded today in the San Bernardino Verbano area: the latest nearby dates back to 2 months ago.

Is San Bernardino Verbano a seismic area?

San Bernardino Verbano 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 San Bernardino Verbano?

In the last ~12 years of INGV data, the strongest within 30 km of San Bernardino Verbano was magnitude 2.3, in 2022.

When was the last quake near San Bernardino Verbano?

The last quake recorded within 30 km of San Bernardino Verbano 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)

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