2012 Northern Italy earthquakes

2012 Northern Italy earthquakes
USGS 20 May intensity map
2012 Northern Italy earthquakes is located in Italy
2012 Northern Italy earthquakes
UTC time 
 2012-05-20 02:03:53
 2012-05-29 07:00:03
ISC event 
 601025379
 605482196
USGS-ANSS 
 ComCat
 ComCat
Local date 
 20 May 2012
 29 May 2012
Local time 
 04:03
 09:00
Magnitude6.1 Mw
 5.8 Mw
Depth5.6 km (3.5 mi)
Epicenter44°54′N 11°14′E / 44.9°N 11.24°E / 44.9; 11.24
TypeThrust
Areas affectedEmilia-Romagna, Italy
Max. intensityMMI VIII (Severe)
Casualties27 dead (7 on 20 May and 20 on 29 May), at least 50 injured in the first quake and 350 in the second, up to 45,000 homeless in total[1][2]

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 first earthquake, registering magnitude 6.1, struck in the Emilia-Romagna region, about 36 kilometres (22 miles) north of the city of Bologna, on 20 May at 04:03 local time (02:03 UTC). The epicentre was between Finale Emilia, Bondeno and Sermide. Two aftershocks of magnitude 5.2 occurred, one approximately an hour after the main event[3] and another approximately eleven hours after the main event.[4] Seven people were killed.

A magnitude 5.8 earthquake struck the same area nine days later, on 29 May, causing an additional twenty deaths and widespread damage, particularly to buildings already weakened by the 20 May earthquake.[5] The epicentre was in Medolla: the quake itself occurred at a depth of about 10 kilometres (6.2 mi).[6]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference reuters1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "Un seísmo de 5,9 grados sacude Italia y deja al menos tres muertos". El País. 27 February 2012. Retrieved 20 May 2012.
  3. ^ "Magnitude 5.2 – Northern Italy". United States Geological Survey. Archived from the original on 23 May 2012. Retrieved 20 May 2012.
  4. ^ "Magnitude 5.1 – Northern Italy". United States Geological Survey. Archived from the original on 23 May 2012. Retrieved 20 May 2012.
  5. ^ "New earthquake shakes northern Italy – 'nine dead'". BBC News. 29 May 2012. Retrieved 29 May 2012.
  6. ^ "Terremoto : 16 morti, e 350 feriti Monti: «Lo Stato farà tutto il possibile". Corriere della Sera. 24 December 2009. Retrieved 30 October 2016.