Rome, 5 September 2016
Shake maps (ShakeMap) provide an immediate visualization of the level of shaking (shaking) of an area hit or affected by an earthquake. The National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV) has been calculating ShakeMaps for several years (http://shakemap.rm.ingv.it; http://cnt.rm.ingv.it/help#impatto) which report the peak values recorded by accelerometers and seismometers, mainly supplied by the National Accelerometric Network (RAN) of the Civil Protection Department and by the National Seismic Network (RSN) of INGV, present in the earthquake area. The maps report both physical values, such as acceleration and peak ground velocity on the horizontal components, and a transposition of these values into macroseismic intensity (Mercalli Cancani Sieberg, MCS) which, obviously, is not observed but estimated from the data. This distribution of the expected impact provides a first indication of the level of shaking observed and therefore of the potential impact, very useful information for the Civil Protection for the coordination and organization of rescue teams in the event of major earthquakes.
The ShakeMaps, calculated for all earthquakes with magnitude M ≥ 3.0 that occur in Italy and surrounding areas, are published on the website http://shakemap.rm.ingv.it/.
Link to the INGVterremoti Blog:
ShakeMap to visualize the shaking produced by an earthquake
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