October 2016 Central Italy earthquakes

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.[5]

October 2016 Central Italy earthquakes
Shakemap for the 30 October quake
UTC time 
 A: 2016-10-26 17:10:37
 B: 2016-10-26 19:18:08
 C: 2016-10-30 06:40:18
ISC event 
 A: 611830883
 B: 612638074
 C: 609624987
USGS-ANSS 
 A: ComCat
 B: ComCat
 C: ComCat
Local date 
 A: 26 October 2016
 B: 26 October 2016
 C: 3 November 2016
Local time 
 A: 19:10
 B: 21:18
 C: 07:40
Magnitude 
 A: 5.5 Mw
 B: 6.1 Mw 
 C: 6.6 Mw 
Depth10.0 km (6.2 mi)
Epicenter42.855°N 13.088°E / 42.855; 13.088
Areas affectedCentral Italy
Max. intensityVI (Strong) and IX (Violent)
Casualties3 deaths[1][2]
Dozens injured[3]
≈ 100,000 homeless[4]

Earthquakes

A magnitude 5.5 earthquake struck 8 km (5 mi) east southeast of Sellano on 26 October at 19:11 local time (17:11 UTC)[6] at a depth of 10 km (6 mi).[7] The earthquake was also felt in the city of Rome.[6] In the region of Marche some houses collapsed, Italian media reported. There were also power failures and the telephone lines were interrupted.[8]

A magnitude 6.1 intraplate earthquake struck 3 km (2 mi) west of Visso on 26 October at 21:18 local time (19:18 UTC). The earthquake, which occurred two months after a magnitude 6.2 earthquake in August, struck about 30 km (20 mi) to the northwest of the August earthquake's epicenter.[9] The civil protection, however, estimated the consequences less dramatically than feared. According to official data, a man died because he had suffered a heart attack as a result of the quake.[10]

A third large, shallow earthquake of USGS preliminary magnitude 6.6 struck 6 km (4 mi) north of Norcia at 07:40 local time (06:40 UTC) on 30 October.[11] Early news and social media reports showed heavy damage to some structures. The village of Arquata del Tronto was destroyed,[12] as were several heritage buildings. These include the Basilica of Saint Benedict in Norcia,[13] the Church of San Salvatore and other churches in Campi.[14] Two women died of sudden heart attacks during the quake.[15]

Shocks
Date / time
(UTC)		 Magnitude Type Depth
Hypocenter		 Epicenter
Location Latitude Longitude
2016-10-26   17:10:36 5.5 Mw 8.7 km Macerata 42.8802 13.1275
2016-10-26   19:18:05 6.1 Mw 7.5 km Macerata 42.9087 13.1288
2016-10-26   21:42:01 4.5 Mw 9.5 km Macerata 42.8612 13.1283
2016-10-30   06:40:17 6.6 Mw 9.4 km Perugia 42.84 13.11
2016-10-30   06:44:30 4.6 ML 10.0 km Perugia 42.8507 13.0715
2016-10-30   07:13:05 4.5 ML 10.8 km Rieti 42.6982 13.2347
2016-10-30   12:07:00 4.6 ML 9.7 km Perugia 42.8445 13.0775
2016-10-30   13:34:54 4.5 ML 9.2 km Perugia 42.8033 13.1653
2016-11-01   07:56:39 4.8 ML 10.0 km Macerata 43.00 13.16
2016-11-03   00:35:01 4.8 ML 8.0 km Macerata 43.03 13.05

(Source: Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia)

Magnitude of October 2016 Central Italy earthquakes.

Geological aspects

The quakes occurred in a seismic gap which is located between the areas hit by the 2016 August earthquake and the one in Umbria and Marche of 1997. In that gap no strong earthquake happened for more than 100 years[16] until 2016.

As the process of faulting along the chain of the Apennine Mountains is a relatively recent one in geological terms, starting 500,000 years ago, the faults are more irregular, so more shaking occurs due to foreshocks according to seismologist Ross Stein from Stanford University. In this case the destructive shock on 26 October was preceded by the foreshock by two hours, causing people to leave their homes and be safer when the larger shock occurred.[17][18]

Comparisons with August 2016 earthquake
The map to the left is dated 27 October, before the biggest shock of 30 October.
Earthquakes from August 2016 Central Italy earthquake.

See also

References
  1. "Terremoto, morto per infarto a Tolentino". www.ansa.it. 27 October 2016. Retrieved 2 November 2016.
  2. Terremoto, Bevagna e Norcia, due donne morte di infarto, un'altra dispersa
  3. Il terremoto delle 7,40: una ventina di feriti, 28mila gli sfollati
  4. Terremoto di 6,5 tra Norcia e Preci. Mai così forte dall'80. Nessuna vittima. "Si temono 100mila sfollati"
  5. Dewan, Angela; Blau, Max. "Italy earthquake: 6.6-magnitude tremor rocks nation's center". CNN. Retrieved 30 October 2016.
  6. Nachrichtenfernsehen, n-tv. "Stärke von 5,4 auf der Richterskala: Starkes Erdbeben erschüttert Mittelitalien". n-tv.de. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
  7. "M5.5 - 8km ESE of Sellano, Italy". United States Geological Survey. 26 October 2016. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
  8. Switzerland, St. Galler Tagblatt AG. "Schweres Erdbeben in Mittelitalien – Ausmass unklar". St. Galler Tagblatt Online (in German). Retrieved 26 October 2016.
  9. "M6.1 - 2km NNW of Visso, Italy". United States Geological Survey. 26 October 2016. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
  10. "Ein Toter nach schweren Erdbeben in Mittelitalien". www.t-online.de. Retrieved 27 October 2016.
  11. "M6.6 - 6km N of Norcia, Italy". United States Geological Survey. 30 October 2016. Retrieved 30 October 2016.
  12. "Terremoto, Arquata del Tronto non esiste più" (in Italian). Il Messagero. 30 October 2016. Retrieved 30 October 2016.
  13. "Italy earthquake: 6.6 magnitude shock felt in Rome". The Guardian. 30 October 2016. Retrieved 30 October 2016.
  14. "Italy quake church collapse caught on camera". Times of Malta. 27 October 2016. Archived from the original on 22 February 2017.
  15. "Terremoto, Bevagna e Norcia, due donne morte di infarto, un'altra dispersa". Retrieved 3 November 2016.
  16. since there is that 1879 quake in the map, not more offside than the actual quake its safer to say so, instead telling the 157 years from source spiegel.de
  17. Germany, SPIEGEL ONLINE, Hamburg. "Erdbeben in Italien: Ein geologischer Zufall rettete Tausende".
  18. Ross Stein; Volkan Sevilgen (26 October 2016). "Italy Earthquakes: Second damaging shock rips north from Amatrice". Temblor.net. Retrieved 30 October 2016.


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