1976 Friuli earthquake

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1976 Friuli earthquake
Italy relief location map.jpg
Bullseye1.png
UTC  time1976-05-06 20:00:12
ISC  event 713583
USGS-ANSS ComCat
Local date6 May 1976 (1976-05-06)
Local time21:00:13 [1]
Magnitude6.5 Mw [1]
Depth10 km (6.2 mi) [1]
Epicenter 46°22′N13°19′E / 46.37°N 13.32°E / 46.37; 13.32 [1]
Type Dip-slip [2]
Areas affected Italy
Yugoslavia (Slovenia)
Austria
Max. intensity EMS-98 X (Very destructive) [3]
Foreshocks4.5 mb 6 May at 19:59 [4]
Casualties990 dead [2]
1,700–3,000 injured [2]

The 1976 Friuli earthquake, also known in Italy as Terremoto del Friuli (Friulian earthquake), occurred on 6 May 1976, at 21:00:13 (20:00:13 UTC) with a moment magnitude of 6.5 and a maximum EMS intensity of X (very destructive). [3] The shock occurred in the Friuli region in northeast Italy near the town of Gemona del Friuli. 990 people were killed, [5] up to about 3,000 were injured, and more than 157,000 were left homeless.

Contents

Damage

Seventy-seven villages in the Friuli region were affected. Gemona del Friuli was greatly damaged, with about 400 people killed in the town itself. Despite extensive emergency measures and international aid by the end of 1976, 15,000 people were still living in camping trailers, 1,000 in tents and 25,000 in evacuation centres. The damage was estimated at $4.25 million. [6] [7] Much of the town has since been reconstructed. The tremor was felt in Venice, as well as neighbouring Austria, Switzerland and Slovenia (at the time part of Yugoslavia) and Germany. In Slovenia, the upper Soča valley and the Brda area was particularly affected, with the village of Breginj nearly completely destroyed. The earthquake damaged several buildings in Nova Gorica and was felt also in the Slovenian capital, Ljubljana. A total of 4,000 buildings were destroyed and 16,000 others were damaged across Slovenia, with around 80 percent of the population in the affected areas left homeless. [8]

USGS ShakeMap showing the intensity of the 1976 Friuli earthquake USGS Shakemap - 1976 Friuli earthquake.jpg
USGS ShakeMap showing the intensity of the 1976 Friuli earthquake
3D diagram of the geology of the affected area, showing the main geological layers, thrust faults, hypocentral area and the location of isoseismal lines Map Endogenous dynamic II 1989 - Friuli 1976 earthquake - Touring Club Italiano CART-TEM-009 (cropped).jpg
3D diagram of the geology of the affected area, showing the main geological layers, thrust faults, hypocentral area and the location of isoseismal lines

The Italian Government nominated Chamber of Deputies member Giuseppe Zamberletti as coordinator of aid efforts on behalf of the regional administration. The national funds were assigned to the reconstruction of the damaged buildings by Zamberletti and the regional council of Friuli-Venezia Giulia. From September to December 1976 all the earthquake victims were accommodated into prefabricated buildings, in order to better cope with the winter. Many local inhabitants lived in the Government supplied trailers for many years while homes were rebuilt. After Zamberletti's mandate the regional government of Friuli-Venezia Giulia was able to completely rebuild many towns, thanks to an accurate resource management, however some towns took over a decade to fully recover. Nowadays, many years after the tragedy, the State's intervention, the earthquake management and reconstruction in Friuli-Venezia Giulia are seen as a great example of efficiency and reliability. [9]

Aftershocks

There were many aftershocks, with two sets of strong shocks on 11 September (16:31, 5.5 Ms and 16:35, 5.4 Ms ) and again on 15 September (03:15, 6.0 Ms  and 9:21, 5.9 Ms ) 1976. [4]

Aftermath

This event also spurred the foundation of the Protezione Civile (the Italian Civil Defence body that deals with nationwide prevention and management of emergencies and catastrophic events).

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 ISC (2015), ISC-GEM Global Instrumental Earthquake Catalogue (1900–2009), Version 2.0, International Seismological Centre
  2. 1 2 3 PAGER-CAT Earthquake Catalog, Version 2008_06.1, United States Geological Survey, September 4, 2009, archived from the original on 2020-03-13
  3. 1 2 Tertulliani, A.; et al. (2018). "The 6 May 1976 Friuli Earthquake: Re-evaluating and Consolidating Transnational Macroseismic Data" (PDF). Bollettino di Geofisica Teorica ed Applicata. 59 (4): 417–444. doi:10.4430/bgta0234.
  4. 1 2 Cipar, John (1980), "Teleseismic observations of the 1976 Friuli, Italy earthquake sequence", Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, 70 (4), Seismological Society of America: 966
  5. ↑ Lessi, Davide (2016-05-06). "Friuli, 40 anni dopo spunta un'altra vittima del sisma" [Friuli earthquake, 40 years later another victim is added to the count]. La Stampa (in Italian). Turin. Retrieved 2020-04-19.
  6. ↑ Wainwright, John; Thornes, John B. (2003). Environmental Issues in the Mediterranean. Routledge. p. 22. ISBN   978-0203495490.
  7. ↑ "Orcolat, il terremoto che 47 anni fa distrusse il Friuli. Furono mille i morti e 3mila i feriti: ma l'area seppe rinascere" (in Italian). la Republica. 2023-05-06.
  8. ↑ "FOTO in VIDEO: 40 let od rušilnega potresa v Posočju in Furlaniji, ki je zahteval skoraj 1000 življenj" (in Slovenian). 24UR. 2016-05-06.
  9. ↑ Carpenedo, Diego (2017). Il "modello friuli" di ricostruzione. Forum. ISBN   978-8884209887.

Further reading

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