This is a list of earthquakes in Italy that had epicentres in Italy, or significantly affected the country. On average every four years an earthquake with a magnitude equal to or greater than 5.5 occurs in Italy. [1]
Due to the particular geodynamic situation (convergence of the Eurasian Plate with the African Plate) the Italian territory is frequently subject to earthquakes, giving it the record in Europe for these phenomena. [2] Out of 1,300 destructive earthquakes that occurred in the 2nd millennium in the central Mediterranean Sea, 500 affected Italy. [3]
The analysis of the earthquakes indicates that they are mostly distributed along the areas affected by Alpine and Apennine tectonics, where they are caused by movements along faults. [4] The highest seismicity hazard in Italy has been concentrated in the central-southern part of the peninsula, along the Apennine ridge, in Calabria and Sicily and in some northern areas, like Friuli-Venezia Giulia, part of Veneto and western Liguria.
Italy lies on the southern extent of the Eurasian Plate, which is surrounded by the Aegean Sea Plate, the Adriatic Plate, and the Anatolian Plate. The Apennine Mountains contain numerous faults that run along the entire Italian peninsula and form the majority of the destructive boundary between the Eurasian and the Adriatic Plates, thus causing Italy to have high amounts of tectonic activity. In addition, Sicily and Calabria are located near the boundary where the African Plate is subducting below the Eurasian Plate, which was responsible for forming the stratovolcano known as Mount Etna.
Date | Region | Mag. | MMI | Deaths | Injuries | Notes | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2023-09-18 | Tuscany | 5.1 Mw | VI | 1 | 1 | Severe damage | [5] [6] |
2023-03-09 | Umbria | 4.3 Mw 4.6 Mw | IV | 13 | Severe damage | [7] [8] | |
2022-11-09 | Pesaro-Urbino | 5.6 Mw | VI | 11 | Moderate damage | [9] [10] | |
2020-02-24 | Calabria | 4.8 Mw | VI | 1 | Moderate damage | [11] [12] | |
2018-12-26 | Sicily | 5.0 Mw | VII | 30 | Several buildings damaged | [13] [14] | |
2018-08-16 | Molise | 5.3 Mw | VI | 2 | Moderate damage | [15] [16] | |
2017-08-21 | Campania | 4.2 Mw | VI | 2 | 42 | ||
2017-01-18 | Abruzzo, Lazio | 5.7 Mw | VIII | 34 | 29 | Sequence | |
2016-10-30 | Umbria | 6.6 Mw | XI | 3 (indirect) | Dozens | Sequence / extensive damage | |
2016-08-24 | Lazio, Umbria, Marche | 6.2 Mw | XI | 299 | >400 | ||
2013-06-21 | Tuscany | 5.2 Mw | V | 4 | [17] [18] | ||
2013-02-16 | Lazio | 4.8 Mw | V | 1 (indirect) | [19] [20] | ||
2012-05-29 | Emilia-Romagna | 5.8 Mw | VII | 20 | 350 | ||
2012-05-20 | Emilia-Romagna | 6.1 Mw | VII | 5 (+2 indirect) | 50 | ||
2010-08-16 | Sicily | 4.5 Mw | 7 | Landslides | [21] [22] | ||
2009-04-06 | L'Aquila | 6.3 Mw | X | 309 | 1,500+ | Severe damage | |
2004-11-24 | Lombardy, Salò | 5.1 Mw | VII–VIII * | 9 | Many buildings damaged | [23] | |
2003-09-14 | Emilia-Romagna | 5.3 Mw | VII | Some | 10 buildings damaged | [24] | |
2003-04-11 | Piedmont, Alessandria | 5.0 Mb | VI * | 2 | [25] | ||
2002-11-01 | Molise | 5.8 Mw | 3 | Doublet / additional damage | [26] | ||
2002-10-31 | Molise | 5.9 | 30 | Doublet | |||
2002-09-06 | Sicily | 6.0 Mw | 2 | 20 | Heart attacks / damage | [27] | |
2001-07-17 | Trentino-Alto Adige | 4.7 Mw | VI * | 3 | 3 | Landslides | [28] |
1998-09-09 | Basilicata, Calabria | 5.6 Mw | VI–VII * | 2 | 12 | Buildings damaged | [29] |
1997-09-26 | Umbria, Marche | 6.1 | 9 | Doublet | |||
1997-09-26 | Umbria, Foligno | 5.7 | 2 | Doublet | |||
1991-05-26 | Basilicata, Potenza | 5.1 Mb | VIII | A few | Minor damage | [30] | |
1990-12-13 | Sicily, Augusta | 5.6 Mw | VII | 19 | 200 | Severe damage | [31] |
1990-05-05 | Basilicata, Campania | 5.8 Mw | VII | 2 | 16 | [32] | |
1987-05-02 | Emilia-Romagna | 4.8 Mb | VII | 1 | Several | Slight damage | [33] |
1985-03-14 | Molise | 4.3 Mw | V | 1 | Slight damage | [34] | |
1984-05-07 | Abruzzo, Lazio | 5.9 Mw | VIII | 3 | 100 | Extensive damage | [35] |
1984-04-29 | Umbria, Gubbio | 5.7 Mw | VIII | 36 | Extensive damage | [36] | |
1983-11-09 | Emilia-Romagna | 5.1 Mw | VIII | 100 | Some damage | [37] | |
1980-11-23 | Campania, Basilicata | 6.9 Mw | X | 2,483–4,900 | 7,700–8,934 | Extreme damage | |
1979-09-19 | Umbria, Norcia | 5.8 Ms | 5 | 5,000 | Severe damage | NGDC | |
1978-04-15 | Gulf of Patti, Sicily | 5.7 Ms | 5 | Moderate damage | NGDC | ||
1978-03-11 | Sicily | 5.0 Ms | 2 | 2 | Moderate damage | NGDC | |
1976-09-15 | Friuli | 5.9/6.0 | 8 (+3 indirect) | Aftershock | |||
1976-09-11 | Friuli | 5.8/5.6 | 2 (indirect) | Aftershock | |||
1976-05-06 | Friuli | 6.5 Mw | X | 900–978 | 1,700–2,400 | Extreme damage | |
1972-06-14 | Ancona | 4.9 | IX | Extensive damage / swarm | [38] | ||
1971-07-15 | Emilia-Romagna | 5.2 Mb | VIII * | 2 | Limited damage | NGDC | |
1971-02-06 | Lazio | 4.6 Mb | VIII | 24 | 150 | Extreme damage | NGDC |
1969-08-11 | Perugia | 4.7 Ms | VII | 4 | Limited damage | NGDC | |
1968-01-15 | Western Sicily | 5.5 Mw | X | 231–400 | 632–1,000 | Sequence | |
1962-08-21 | Irpinia, Campania | 6.1 | IX * | 16 | Moderate damage | ||
1943-10-03 | Offida, Marche | 5.5 Mw | IX | 15 | Very heavy damage | [39] | |
1936-10-18 | Cansiglio | 5.9 ML | IX | 19 | |||
1933-09-26 | Abruzzo | 5.6 Mw | IX | 10 | Some damage | [40] [41] | |
1930-10-30 | Senigallia, Marche | 5.9 | 18 | ||||
1930-07-23 | Irpinia | 6.6 Ms | X | 1,404 | 4,624–7,000 | ||
1920-09-07 | Garfagnana | 6.4 | 171 | [42] | |||
1917-04-26 | Northern Umbria | 5.8 | 20 | ||||
1915-01-13 | Avezzano | 6.7 Mw | XI | 29,978–32,610 | Extreme damage | ||
1914-05-08 | Sicily | 4.9 Ms | X | 120 | Severe damage | NGDC | |
1908-12-28 | Strait of Messina | 7.1 Mw | XI | 75,000–200,000 | Extreme damage / tsunami | ||
1907-10-23 | Calabria | 5.9 Ms | VIII–X | 158–167 | Moderate damage | NGDC | |
1905-09-08 | Calabria | 7.2 Mw | XI | 557–2,500 | Tsunami | ||
1901-10-30 | Salò | 5.5 Mw | VII–VIII | Collapsed buildings | [43] | ||
1894-11-16 | Strait of Messina, Sicily, Calabria | 6.0 | IX | 100 | Severe damage | [44] | |
1887-02-23 | Liguria | 6.2–6.5 | >2,000 | Significant damage / tsunami | [45] [46] | ||
1883-07-28 | Ischia | 4.3–5.2 Mw | XI | 2,313 | Near total destruction on in Ischia | ||
1873-06-29 | Veneto | 6.3 Me | IX–X | 80 | |||
1857-12-16 | Basilicata | 7.0 Mw | XI | 10,000 | Extreme damage | ||
1851-08-14 | Basilicata | 700–2,000+ | Many buildings damaged | [47] [48] | |||
1836-04-25 | Calabria | 6.1 | X | 239 | Severe damage | [49] | |
1831-05-26 | Taggia, Sanremo | 5.5 | VIII-IX | Moderate damage | [50] | ||
1828-10-09 | Ligurian Apennines, province of Alessandria | 5.8 | VII-VIII | 19 | Moderate damage | [51] | |
1808-04-02 | Piedmont | 5.7 | VIII | 2 | Moderate damage | [52] | |
1805-07-26 | Campania, Molise | 6.6 Me | X | 5,573 | Extreme damage | ||
1802-05-12 | Lombardy, Cremona | 5.7 Mw | VIII-IX | 2 | Collapsed churches, houses, and a municipal building | [53] [54] [55] | |
1783-02-04 | Calabria | 7.0 | 50,000 | [42] | |||
1762-10-06 | L'Aquila | 5.3–6.0 Mw | IX | Damage | [56] | ||
1743-02-20 | Salento | 7.1 Mw | IX | 180–300 | |||
1732-11-29 | Campania | 6.6 | Thousands | [57] | |||
1706-11-03 | Abruzzo | 6.6-6.84 Mw | X | 2,400 | Extreme damage | ||
1703-02-12 | L'Aquila | 6.7 | XI | 2,500–5,000 | |||
1703-01-16 | Montereale | 6.2 | VIII | ||||
1703-01-14 | Norcia | 6.7 | X | 6,240–9,761 | |||
1694-09-08 | Basilicata | 6.9 | >6,000 | ||||
1693-01-11 | Sicily, Malta | 7.4 Mw | XI | 60,000 | |||
1688-06-05 | Sannio | 7.0 | XI | 3,311 | Severe damage | NGDC | |
1659-11-06 | Calabria | 2,035 | Extreme damage | NGDC | |||
1654-07-23 | Sorano, Marsica | X | 600 | Severe damage | NGDC | ||
1639-10-07 | Lazio | 6.0 Mw | IX–X | 500 | |||
1638-06-09 | Calabria | IX | 52 | Moderate damage | |||
1638-03-27 | Calabria | 7.0 Ms | XI | 9,581–30,000 | Extreme damage / tsunami | [58] | |
1627-07-30 | Apulia | 6.7 Mw | X | 5,000 | Tsunami | ||
1626-07-30 | Naples | 70,000 | |||||
1626-04-05 | Girifalco | 6.1 Mw | X | Very heavy damage | |||
1616-06-04 | Cagliari | No casualties or damage reported. Registeted on a plaque in the city's cathedral | |||||
1570-11-17 | Ferrara | 70–200 | |||||
1561-08-19 | Vallo di Diano | 6.4 Mw | X | 500 | [59] | ||
1517-03-29 | Irpinia | 5.4 Mw | >50 | Moderate damage | [60] | ||
1511-03-26 | Friuli | X | 15 | Severe damage | |||
1466-01-15 | Irpinia | 6.1 | VIII-IX | >100 | [61] | ||
1461-11-27 | L'Aquila | 6.3 | IX | >80 | High intensity over Abruzzo region | ||
1456-12-30 | Benevento | 6.6 Mw | X–XI | Sequence | |||
1456-12-05 | Molise | 7.1–7.4 Mw | X–XI | 30,000–70,000 | High intensity over large area. Largest earthquake on the Italian Peninsula. | [62] | |
1453-09-28 | Florence | 5.3 | VII-VIII | Moderate damage | [63] | ||
1361-07-17 | Ascoli Satriano | 6.0 | >1,000 | Extreme damage | [64] | ||
1349-09-09 | L'Aquila | 6.7 | X | 2,000 | Severe damage | NGDC | |
1348-01-25 | Friuli | 6.9 | X | 10,000 | Extreme damage | ||
1343-11-25 | Naples | Tsunami | |||||
1328-12-04 | Norcia | 6.4 | X | 2,000-5,000 | [65] | ||
1315-12-03 | L'Aquila | 5.6 | IX | Moderate damage | [66] | ||
1298-12-01 | Monti Reatini | 6.3 | X | Numerous deaths and severe damage | [67] | ||
1293-09-04 | Samnium, Naples | 5.8 | VIII-IX | Moderate damage | [68] | ||
1222-12-25 | Northern Italy | X | 12,000 | Extreme damage | |||
1169-02-04 | Sicily | X | 15,000–25,000 | Severe damage / tsunami | |||
1117-01-03 | Northern Italy | VII | Severe damage | ||||
1046-11-09 | Valle dell'Adige | IX-X | Numerous deaths and severe damage | [69] | |||
801-04-29 | Central Apennines | 5.4 Me | VII–VIII | Severe damage | [70] | ||
951 | Rossano | IX | Severe damage | [71] [72] | |||
853 | Messina | IX-X | Severe damage | [73] | |||
847 | Samnium | Severe damage | [74] | ||||
801-04-29 | Spoleto, Perugia | Severe damage | [75] | ||||
778 | Treviso | VIII-IX | 48 | Moderate damage | [71] [76] | ||
725 | Classe | VIII | Moderate damage | [71] [77] | |||
584 | Liguria | Severe damage | [78] | ||||
375 | Benevento | IX | Severe damage | [71] | |||
369-07-21 | Benevento | Thousands | Severe damage | [71] | |||
361 | Sicily and Calabria | X | Drastic decrease in the population along the Strait of Messina | Extreme damage / tsunami | [71] [79] | ||
346 | Samnium | IX | Severe damage | [71] [80] | |||
101 | San Valentino in Abruzzo Citeriore | IX-X | Severe damage | [71] [81] | |||
99 | Circello, Benevento | IX-X | Severe damage | [71] [82] | |||
79-08-24 | Vesuvian area | VIII | Thousands | Earthquake caused by the catastrophic eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD | [71] | ||
62-02-05 | Campania | 5.2–6.1 | IX–X | Severe damage | |||
56 BC-04 | Potenza Picena | VIII-IX | Severe damage | [71] [83] | |||
91 BC | Modena, Reggio Emilia | VIII | Moderate damage | [71] | |||
100 BC | Marche | VIII-X | Severe damage | [71] [84] | |||
217 BC-06 | Etruria | X | Severe damage | [71] | |||
Note: The NGDC has records for significant events that go back several thousand years BCE. Added for source diversity, the United States Geological Survey reports are sufficient from the early 1980s to the present. Occasionally, these sources omit the maximum felt intensity. Rovida et al. 2011 can help fill in some of the gaps. Intensity values derived from this source are indicated with an asterisk. The inclusion criteria for adding events are based on WikiProject Earthquakes' notability guideline that was developed for stand alone articles. The principles described also apply to lists. In summary, only damaging, injurious, or deadly events should be recorded. |
AD 62 (LXII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Marius and Afinius. The denomination AD 62 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.
https://www.ingv.it/en/homeInstitution+that+monitors+volcano+activity A volcano observatory is an institution that conducts research and monitoring of a volcano.
An earthquake occurred northeast of the city of Adana in the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia on 14 May 1269 at "the first hour of the night". Most sources give a death toll of 8,000 in the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia in southern Asia Minor, but a figure of 60,000 dead was reported by Robert Mallet in 1853 and repeated in many later catalogues.
The 1980 Irpinia earthquake took place in Italy on 23 November 1980, with a moment magnitude of 6.9 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (Extreme). It left at least 2,483 people dead, at least 7,700 injured, and 250,000 homeless.
Striking southern Italy on 8 September, the 1905 Calabria earthquake had a moment magnitude of 7.2 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI (Extreme). The first major earthquake of the 20th century, it severely damaged parts of Lipari, Messina Province and a large area between Cosenza and Nicotera and killed between 557 and 2,500 people.
On 5 February AD 62, an earthquake of an estimated magnitude of between 5 and 6 and a maximum intensity of IX or X on the Mercalli scale struck the towns of Pompeii and Herculaneum, severely damaging them. The earthquake may have been a precursor to the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79, which destroyed the same two towns. The contemporary philosopher and dramatist Seneca the Younger wrote an account of the earthquake in the sixth book of his Naturales quaestiones, entitled De Terrae Motu.
The 1953 Torud earthquake occurred at the northeastern border of the Great Salt Kavir in Torud, Semnan, Iran on 12 February. The shock had a moment magnitude of 6.6 and had a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe). At least 800 people were killed.
In May 2012, two major earthquakes struck Northern Italy, causing 27 deaths and widespread damage. The events are known in Italy as the 2012 Emilia earthquakes, because they mainly affected the Emilia region.
The National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology is a research institute for geophysics and volcanology in Italy.
The Gibilmanna Observatory is a research station used for a diverse range of studies set up and run by the Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV) and it is located on Cozzo Timpa Rossa at 1005 m.a.s.l. near Cefalù, a town in the district of Palermo, Italy.
The 1627 Gargano earthquake struck Gargano and part of Tavoliere, southern Italy, at about mid-day on 30 July 1627. A "very large earthquake" caused a major tsunami, the largest seismic event ever recorded in the Gargano region, which "produced severe damage in the whole promontory", killing about 5,000 people. Four aftershocks were documented. The most extensive damage was noted between San Severo and Lesina.
An earthquake, measuring 6.2 ± 0.016 on the moment magnitude scale, hit Central Italy on 24 August 2016 at 03:36:32 CEST. Its epicentre was close to Accumoli, with its hypocentre at a depth of 4 ± 1 km, approximately 75 km (47 mi) southeast of Perugia and 45 km (28 mi) north of L'Aquila, in an area near the borders of the Umbria, Lazio, Abruzzo and Marche regions. As of 15 November 2016, 299 people had been killed.
A series of major earthquakes struck Central Italy between the Marche and Umbria regions in October 2016. The third quake on 30 October was the largest in Italy in 36 years, since the 1980 Irpinia earthquake.
The 1639 Amatrice earthquake occurred on 7 October near Amatrice, in the upper valley of the river Tronto, at the time part of the Kingdom of Naples, now Italy.
The 1688 Sannio earthquake occurred in the late afternoon of June 5 in the province of Benevento of southern Italy. The moment magnitude is estimated at 7.0, with a Mercalli intensity of XI. It severely damaged numerous towns in a vast area, completely destroying Cerreto Sannita and Guardia Sanframondi. The exact number of victims is unknown, although it is estimated to total approximately 10,000. It is among the most destructive earthquakes in the history of Italy.
The 1139 Ganja earthquake was one of the worst seismic events in history. It affected the Seljuk Empire and Kingdom of Georgia; modern-day Azerbaijan and Georgia. The earthquake had an estimated magnitude of 7.7 MLH, 7.5 Ms and 7.0–7.3 Mw. A controversial death toll of 230,000–300,000 came as a consequence of this event.
The 1971 Tuscania earthquake occurred on 6 February in Italy. It had an epicenter located halfway between Tuscania and Arlena di Castro, about 20 km west of Viterbo. It had a body wave magnitude of 4.6.
The 1883 Casamicciola earthquake, also known as the Ischia earthquake occurred on 28 July at 20:25 local time on the island of Ischia in the Gulf of Naples in Italy. Although the earthquake had an estimated moment magnitude of 4.2–5.5, considered moderate in size, it caused intense ground shaking that was assigned XI (Extreme) on the Modified Mercalli intensity scale. Between 2,313 and 3,100 people lost their lives. The city also suffered great property losses, with 80 percent of all homes destroyed. This earthquake was exceptionally destructive for its magnitude mainly due to its shallow focal depth.
On December 5, 1456, the largest earthquake to occur on the Italian Peninsula struck the Kingdom of Naples. The earthquake had an estimated moment magnitude of Mw 7.19–7.4, and was centred near the town of Pontelandolfo in the present-day Province of Benevento, southern Italy. Earning a level of XI (Extreme) on the Modified Mercalli intensity scale, the earthquake caused widespread destruction in central and southern Italy. Estimates of the death toll range greatly with as many as 70,000 deaths reported. It was followed by two strong Mw 7.0 and 6.0 earthquakes to the north on December 30. The earthquake sequence is considered the largest in Italian history, and one of the most studied.
A series of mainshocks struck Calabria on March 27–28 and June 9, 1638. The first three earthquakes had moment magnitudes estimated to be Mw 6.6–7.1. On June 9, another mainshock estimated at Mw 6.7 struck the same region, causing further damage and casualties. The four earthquakes resulted in as many as 30,000 fatalities.