The trend of recent years on the number of earthquakes located by the 24-hour Surveillance Rooms of INGV in 2022 is confirmed.
There are 16.302 earthquakes recorded in 2022 on Italian territory and in the neighboring areas from the National Seismic Network: a average of 44 earthquakes per day, almost 1 earthquake every 30 minutes
The strongest earthquakes were located outside the Italian territory or at sea along the coasts, similar to what also happened in 2021.
Seismic events of magnitude equal to or greater than 5.0 have happened in Algeriain Bosnia, in Gulf of Policastro in the Tyrrhenian Sea, is in the Adriatic Sea. The most important seismic sequence of 2022 took place just off the Pesaro Marche coast, which began on the morning of 9 November with two earthquakes of magnitude 5.5 and 5.2 which occurred about a minute apart, felt in a very large area of the Northern central Italy.
The total number of earthquakes located in Italy in 2022 is slightly higher than in 2021 e it remains stable at around 16 earthquakes since 2019, down compared to the years 2016, 2017 and 2018 characterized by the seismic sequence in central Italy (Amatrice-Norcia-Visso) which began on 24 August 2016. The contribution of this sequence in terms of number of events is still important also in 2022, representing about 30% of the total seismicity recorded in Italy.
Some numbers and curiosities about the 2022 earthquakes in Italy and in the surrounding areas
The numbers of 2022
- 16302 recorded and localized earthquakes.
- 2207 earthquakes of magnitude 2.0 or greater.
- 258 earthquakes of magnitude between 3.0 and 3.9
- 27 earthquakes with a magnitude between 4.0 and 4.9, 11 of which were located in countries bordering Italy (Bosnia-Herzegovina, Albania, Greece, Malta, Germany), some in the seas surrounding the peninsula (Adriatic, Tyrrhenian Sea) and only 4 on the Italian mainland : one with an epicenter in the province of Agrigento (Mw 4.1), one in the province of Catanzaro (Mw 4.3), one in the province of Reggio Emilia (Mw 4.3) and one in the province of Genoa (Mw 4.0).
- 6 events of magnitude greater than or equal to 5.0, three of which occurred outside the Italian territory (Algeria and Bosnia), one very deep in the Gulf of Policastro, and the two main events of the seismic sequence in the Adriatic Sea off the Pesaro Marche coast. The first of magnitude Mw 5.5, which occurred at 7:07 on November 9, was the strongest event recorded in Italy in 2022.
The places of 2022
- In Calabria the strongest earthquake on the mainland: an event of magnitude 4.3 was recorded on the Ionian coast in the province of Catanzaro on October 13, 2022 at 00:44 (Italian time).
- Sicily, on the other hand, is the region that has recorded the most earthquakes of magnitude equal to or greater than 2.0. There were 184 events with this magnitude on the island.
- If even very small earthquakes of 2.0 are counted, the primacy would be conditioned by the density of the seismic network - denser in some areas of Italy - and they would "win" Marche and Umbria.
- The region with fewer earthquakes: Sardinia, as always.
Seismic sequences in Italy in 2022
As in previous years, numerous more or less long seismic sequences were also recorded in 2022, some of which were already active in previous years, such as the sequence in central Italy that began in August 2016.
The seismic sequences of 2022 were generally of short duration and with low magnitude values, with the exception of the sequence in the Adriatic Sea, off the Pesaro Marche coast, which also produced events of magnitude greater than 5. The sequence began on the morning of November 9 with two earthquakes of magnitude 5.5 and 5.2 which occurred about one minute distance between them. The two events were felt in a very large area of central-northern Italy, particularly along the Adriatic coast, from Friuli to Puglia, also causing minor damage in some municipalities between the provinces of Pesaro and Ancona. In total, in just under two months from 9 November to the end of 2022, around 740 earthquakes were located in the area of the sequence, 3 of these with a magnitude between 4.0 and 4.2.
The interactive map of the 2022 earthquakes
The seismicity of 2022 recorded by the INGV National Seismic Network is shown in one , available in the INGVterremoti story maps gallery. In this application the 16302 earthquakes classified and themed according to their magnitude are represented. Each event can be queried to view the relative hypocentral parameters and the event information page from the earthquake.ingv.it portal.
In the application are available the infographics which show, for an area chosen by the user on the map, the total number of earthquakes located in 2022, the maximum magnitude, the list with the earthquakes of greater magnitude, the magnitude classes and finally the graph of the distribution of the number of events in the 12 months of the year.
"The graphic representation of the seismic events that occurred in Italy is a fundamental tool that INGV makes available to citizens and the scientific community to increase awareness of the fragility of our territories throughout the peninsula, as well as to provide a tool for research to scholars around the world. The seismic surveillance carried out by INGV never stops, not even for a second. Awareness of the nature of our territory, its seismicity and its geological conformation is an information activity that the Institute constantly pursues with continuous research and monitoring dissemination actions such as Seismic Literacy Day promoted by INGV in the month of January of each year: the Earth is a living planet, Italy will always continue to have earthquakes, one every 4-5 years of potentially destructive magnitude, and we must invest in their greater knowledge to better defend ourselves against future"he concludes Carlo Doglioni, President of INGV.
