M6.1 earthquake 1 km WNW of Lestans, Italy

Thursday, June 17, 1976, 14:28:49 UTC · 46.162°N, 12.864°E

A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck 1 km WNW of Lestans, Italy on Thursday, June 17, 1976, 14:28:49 UTC, at a depth of 24.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.5 on May 6, 1976.

Magnitude: 6.1; Strong · mb
Depth: 24 km; Shallow
Felt reports: 0; Did You Feel It?
Est. shaking: VI; Strong (ShakeMap)
PAGER alert: None; Not issued
Tsunami: No flag; USGS feed

Outlined circle: this earthquakeDashed circle: 100 km aftershock search areaColoured lines: estimated shaking intensity (USGS ShakeMap)

In context

How big was it, and why here?

Energy released

21 kilotons of TNT

That is about the energy of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 45 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.

Tectonic setting

660 km

from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the North American and Pacific plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.

Depth: shallow

24 km

Shallow earthquakes (under 70 km) produce the strongest surface shaking for their size, so they are the ones most likely to cause damage near the epicenter.

Did You Feel It?

Where it was felt

No “Did You Feel It?” reports have been published for this event yet. If you felt it, you can add your report on the USGS website.

I felt it — report to USGS ↗

USGS PAGER estimate

Who was exposed to shaking

USGS publishes PAGER impact estimates for significant earthquakes, usually within an hour. No PAGER estimate is available for this event.

After the main event

Aftershocks within 100 km

USGS lists 8 M2.5+ earthquakes within 100 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M5.1 on July 15, 1976. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.

Time after the mainshock on a logarithmic scale (first hours stretched), magnitude on the vertical axis. M2.5+ events from USGS.

Regional history

Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km

USGS lists 83 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:

History · NOAA

Deadliest earthquakes in this area

NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 62 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 2,609 recorded deaths. The most severe:

1920M5.8
Carrara,Garfagnana
7 Sep 1920 · 288 km away · intensity X
1,400 deaths
1976M6.5
Ne, Balkans Nw: Slovenia: Nw
6 May 1976 · 38 km away · intensity X
978 deaths$3.6 billion damage
1768
Santa Sofia
19 Oct 1768 · 250 km away · intensity X
120 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
1873
Bellunese
29 Jun 1873 · 36 km away · intensity X
55 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
1930M6.0
Senigallia
30 Oct 1930 · 257 km away · intensity IX
18 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
1976M6.0
Northeastern
15 Sep 1976 · 30 km away · intensity IX
11 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)

NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.

Nearby trackers