The Global Disaster Alert and Coordination System provides near real-time alerts about natural disasters around the world and tools to facilitate response coordination, including media monitoring, map catalogues and Virtual On-Site Operations Coordination Centre.

Green Earthquake Alert in Italy

Summary

On 4/6/2009 1:32:44 AM UTC an earthquake of magnitude 6.7 and depth 33km has struck an highly populated area in the Abruzzi Province (population: 1.2 million) in Italy. GDACS estimates the likelihood for need of international humanitarian intervention to be low (Green alert). This earthquake can have a low humanitarian impact since the affected region is highly populated and has low vulnerability to natural disasters. The earthquake 43km from the city of Terni. The nearest populated places are Poggio Santa Maria (18km), Pagliare (19km), Vigliano (15km), Civitatomassa (17km), Pendenza (18km), Sella di Corno (13km), Coppito (20km), Scoppito (14km), Terme di Cotilia (17km), Rocca di Corno (11km), Preturo (16km), Rocca di Fondi (13km), San Vittorino (16km), Castel Sant'angelo (15km), San Marco (14km), Santi (11km), Borgo Velino (11km), Cavallari (13km), Casaline (9km), Antrodoco (10km), Arischia (16km), Teora (11km), Colle (14km), Pizzoli (13km), Termine (5km), Barete (11km), Micigliano (9km), Cagnano Amiterno (6km), Terminillo (15km), San Giovanni (8km), Fiugni (4km), Cabbia (3km), Lodonero (7km), Vallemare (5km), Marana (6km), Sigillo (7km), Cesaproba (3km), Borbona (4km), Pellescritta (5km), Colle Paganica (8km), Capitignano (12km), Montereale (8km), Posta (7km), Sivignano (12km), Mascioni (16km), Favischio (9km), Ville di Fano (6km), Bacugno (7km), Cavagnano (9km), Albaneto (12km), Santa Vittoria (10km), Aringo (12km), Campotosto (19km), Poggio Cancelli (16km), Verrico (10km), Santa Croce (10km), Leonessa (19km), Casanova (18km), Santa Lucia (13km), Colleverde (16km), Castiglione (12km), Roccapassa (13km), Cornelle (15km), Sala (16km), Sant'Angelo (15km), Collicelle (13km), Scai (14km), Nommisci (17km), Pianezza (17km), Cornillo Nuovo (20km), Arafranca Pinaco (18km), Terzone San Paolo (16km), Configno (17km), Cittareale (15km), Torrita (16km), Amatrice (20km), Buda (19km), San Giorgio (18km), Collemoresco (18km), Trimezzo (19km), Roccasalli (20km). It is a mountainous region with a maximum altitude of 2651 m. Humanitarian Impact   Population vulnerability   Tsunami probability   Landslide probability   Nuclear radiation probability   Caution: this information is based on risk models. Whether international humanitarian aid is needed must be decided by an expert. This email report was automatically created or updated by a computer on: 4/6/2009 1:51:17 AM UTC (18 minutes after the event) Explanation of alert calculation: Show The impact model combines magnitude (M), population within 100km (P) and vulnerability ECHO average score (V) using the formula: alertscore = max(M-4.5,0) * log10(max(P / 80000,0))^ 0.5 * max(V,0.5) ^ 1.5 / 3 The weighted product of magnitude, population and vulnerability (0.5) results in an alertscore of 0.356026799464126 Then alert is Red if alertscore>2, Orange if alertscore>1 and Green if alertscore<=1.

Google map   Population map Population Density near epicenter (people/km2). Image area: 6x4 decimal degrees (approx. 650x450km2). Earthquake epicentre: best estimate    previous estimates:

Earthquake Event

Geological map Characteristics for this report Information source Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre, US (PTWC) Link to source event report (pt09096000) Magnitude 6.7 M Depth 33 km Location Geographic coordinates (latitude/longitude): 42.48, 13.16 Italy , Abruzzi Province (population: 1272594). Seismic region: Italy. The earthquake happened in Italy , Abruzzi Province (population: 1272594). , 43km from the city of Terni. The nearest populated places are Poggio Santa Maria (18km), Pagliare (19km), Vigliano (15km), Civitatomassa (17km), Pendenza (18km), Sella di Corno (13km), Coppito (20km), Scoppito (14km), Terme di Cotilia (17km), Rocca di Corno (11km), Preturo (16km), Rocca di Fondi (13km), San Vittorino (16km), Castel Sant'angelo (15km), San Marco (14km), Santi (11km), Borgo Velino (11km), Cavallari (13km), Casaline (9km), Antrodoco (10km), Arischia (16km), Teora (11km), Colle (14km), Pizzoli (13km), Termine (5km), Barete (11km), Micigliano (9km), Cagnano Amiterno (6km), Terminillo (15km), San Giovanni (8km), Fiugni (4km), Cabbia (3km), Lodonero (7km), Vallemare (5km), Marana (6km), Sigillo (7km), Cesaproba (3km), Borbona (4km), Pellescritta (5km), Colle Paganica (8km), Capitignano (12km), Montereale (8km), Posta (7km), Sivignano (12km), Mascioni (16km), Favischio (9km), Ville di Fano (6km), Bacugno (7km), Cavagnano (9km), Albaneto (12km), Santa Vittoria (10km), Aringo (12km), Campotosto (19km), Poggio Cancelli (16km), Verrico (10km), Santa Croce (10km), Leonessa (19km), Casanova (18km), Santa Lucia (13km), Colleverde (16km), Castiglione (12km), Roccapassa (13km), Cornelle (15km), Sala (16km), Sant'Angelo (15km), Collicelle (13km), Scai (14km), Nommisci (17km), Pianezza (17km), Cornillo Nuovo (20km), Arafranca Pinaco (18km), Terzone San Paolo (16km), Configno (17km), Cittareale (15km), Torrita (16km), Amatrice (20km), Buda (19km), San Giorgio (18km), Collemoresco (18km), Trimezzo (19km), Roccasalli (20km). It is a mountainous region with a maximum altitude of 2651 m. Time 4/6/2009 1:32:44 AM (UTC, Universal Standard Time) 4/6/2009 2:25:22 AM (Estimated local solar time) Mon, 4/6/2009 02:32 CET (Brussels, Paris, Rome) Sun, 4/5/2009 20:32 EST (New York, Washington) Sun, 4/5/2009 17:32 PST (San Francisco, Los Angeles) Mon, 4/6/2009 09:32 AWST (Australian Western Standard Time)

Previous reports for this earthquake. Earthquake report Tsunami report Event Date/Time Lat/Lon Magnitude Depth (km) Source Publication Date/Time Delay 54751 4/6/2009 1:32:44 AM UTC 42.48, 13.16 6.7 33 PTWC (pt09096000) 4/6/2009 1:51:17 AM UTC 18min 54752 4/6/2009 1:32:42 AM UTC 42.4228, 13.3945 6.3 10 NEIC (us2009fcaf) 4/6/2009 1:56:32 AM UTC 23min 54774 4/6/2009 1:32:04 AM UTC 42.38, 13.32 6.3 2 EMSC 4/6/2009 10:41:27 AM UTC 549min

Earthquake Impact Details

Potentially affected People

The population in the area of this earthquake if 65 people/km². (Data source).

The earthquake occurred at 2h local time. At this time a day, more people are at home and therefore more vulnerable to collapsing residential buildings. During traffic hours, people can be affected by collapsing bridges and other road infrastructure.

Damage

The affected region has low level of urban area (0.1%) and a high level of cultivated area (34.7%). In urban areas more damage can be expected than in cultivated or natural areas. (Data source)

Resilience and Vulnerability

Resilience is the capacity of the population to cope with a hazard. Since much of investments in earthquake preparedness and available funds for quick response is related to household income, the GDP per capita can be used as a rough indicator of resilience.

Italy has a GDP per capita of 20174 PPP$ (Parity Purchasing Power Dollar, about 1 Euro) and is therefore part of the high level income countries. Therefore, the earthquake happened in an area of high resilience.

Based on the combination of 9 indicators, ECHO attributes Italy a low vulnerability.

Exposure

Both conditions for survival and conditions for delivering aid strongly depend on the current weather and temperature. The following graphs show the current and forecast weather.

Current weather conditions and forecasts at earthquake location (lat: 42.48 - long: 13.16) (Data source).

More detailed observations at closest weather station (Foligno): WeatherByWeb - NOAA

Probability of Secondary effects

Landslides: The maximum slope in the area of the earthquake is 74.387% and the maximum altitude is 2651 m. Since this is a high slope, the risk of earthquake induced landslides is high. Note, however, that the slope data is not reliable on a local scale, while landslides depend very much on local topography, soil and meteorological conditions. More...

Critical infrastructure

The following critical infrastructure is nearby and could be affected by the earthquake:

• Nuclear power plants: The following nuclear installations are near the epicenter: Rio Fucino (146km), Occhito (124km)
• Hydrodams: The following hydrodam installations are near the epicenter: Rio Fucino (146km), Occhito (124km)

The distance to nuclear installations is evaluated based on a 1999 UN dataset containing the location of nuclear plants in the world. If plants are near and the earthquake magnitude is above 6.5, the alert is set to orange. Note that the location of plants is approximate with errors of up to 100km.

Getting there and away

The nearest civilian airport (Foligno) is at 62km from the epicenter. The Civil/Military airfield of L Aquila Preturo is located at 17km from the epicenter. Other airports are: Grazzanise (176km), Capua Mil (174km), Aquino (120km), Latina (106km), Frosinone Mil (93km), Pratica Di Mare (109km), Sora (93km), Ciampino (89km), Fiumicino (107km), Roma Urbe (80km), Guidonia (64km), L Aquila Preturo (17km), Viterbo (90km), Liberi (84km), Baccarini (174km), Foligno (62km), Sant Egidio (86km), Siena (178km), Falconara (128km), Fano (150km), Miramare (177km)

Ports nearby are: Ponza (177km), Gaeta (146km), Formia (142km), Terracina (133km), Anzio (123km), Ostia (110km), Fiumicino (111km), Termoli (161km), Civitavecchia (121km), Vasto (135km), Giglio (187km), Ortona (103km), Port Ercole (160km), Porto Santo Stefano (170km), Pescara (87km), Talamone (166km), Giulianova (73km), San Benedetto (79km), Porto Recanati (112km), Ancona (130km), Falconara (129km), Senigallia (138km), Fano (154km), Pesaro (161km), Cattolica (170km), Riccione (177km), Porti De Riminl (183km)

Disclaimer

While we try everything to ensure accuracy, this information is purely indicative and should not be used for any decision making without alternate sources of information. The JRC is not responsible for any damage or loss resulting from the use of the information presented on this website.

© European Union, 2004-2010 Reproduction authorised provided the source is acknowledged, except for commercial purposes.