Earthquakes in Bard
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 = 0.050 g (10% probability of exceedance in 50 years, rigid soil).
Why the ground rarely shakes here
Bard 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 Bard plus nearby towns.
The seismic history of Bard
The earthquakes that were actually felt in Bard over the centuries, with the intensity observed on site (Mercalli MCS scale).
- 2005IV8 September 2005
Moderate: felt by many indoors; glasses and dishes rattle.
Massif du Mont-Blanc earthquake (M4.4), epicentre 82 km away
- 1996III-IV31 March 1996
Moderate: felt by many indoors; glasses and dishes rattle.
Valle d'Aosta earthquake (M4.2), epicentre 43 km away
- 1968VI18 June 1968
Strong: felt by everyone, many get scared; objects fall, first light damage to buildings.
Valle d'Aosta earthquake (M4.9), epicentre 8 km away
- 1892VI5 March 1892
Strong: felt by everyone, many get scared; objects fall, first light damage to buildings.
Valle d'Aosta earthquake (M5.0), epicentre 6 km away
- 1887III-IV23 February 1887
Moderate: felt by many indoors; glasses and dishes rattle.
Liguria occidentale earthquake (M6.3), epicentre 192 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 49 km from Western Piemonte, 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
60 eventsEarthquakes in the area
Nearby towns
How does it compare with the surroundings?
Bard is about average for its province in recorded quakes.
Each quake is attributed to the town closest to its epicentre: the numbers describe the area, not the municipal territory alone.
Context
Province of Aosta3 events · 30gAosta Valley region3 events · 30gFrequently asked questions
Were there earthquakes today in Bard?
No, no quakes were recorded today in the Bard area: the latest nearby dates back to 10 months ago.
Is Bard a seismic area?
Bard 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 Bard?
In the last ~12 years of INGV data, the strongest within 30 km of Bard was magnitude 2.2, in 2018.
When was the last quake near Bard?
The last quake recorded within 30 km of Bard was 7 months ago.
Tip. Click a nearby town to explore its seismicity.
Data: INGV — National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (CC-BY 4.0)