In reference to some news circulating in the last few hours regarding the seismic event recorded during the night in the Marche region, The National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV) deems it necessary to provide a clarification.
According to the data processed by the INGV Operations Rooms, the seismic event recorded at 03:31 on 5 January 2026 had a magnitude of ML 3.8 (https://terremoti.ingv.it/event/44905452). There are no magnitude 5.1 events associated with the current sequence in the Macerata province area. as erroneously reported by some newspapers.
We therefore invite our fellow journalists and the newspapers that have reported this value to correct the information., in order to avoid the dissemination of incorrect data that may generate unjustified alarm among the population.
The INGV reminds that official data on the magnitude, location, and characteristics of earthquakes in Italy are available through its institutional channels and are updated in real time on the following web page: https://terremoti.ingv.it/ and on the INGV earthquake social media channels and apps.
