L'Aquila seismic sequence 01.01.2009 - 01.12.2009

Abstract

The 2009 L'Aquila earthquake occurred in the region of Abruzzo, in central Italy. The main shock occurred at 3:32 local time (1:32 UTC) on 6 April 2009, and was rated 5.9 on the Richter scale (ML) and 6.3 on the moment magnitude scale (Mw); its epicentre was near L'Aquila, the capital of Abruzzo region, which together with surrounding villages suffered most damage. There have been several thousand foreshocks and aftershocks since December 2008, more than thirty of which had a Richter magnitude greater than 3.5. The earthquake was felt throughout central Italy, 308 people are died. The epicentral region saw dozens of significant aftershocks following the main earthquake. The strongest, which hit on 7 April at 19:47 local time, measured magnitude 5.3 ML and caused further damage. Another strong aftershok was on 9 April, measured magnitude 5.1 ML, with epicenter near Campotosto Lake (Nord of L’Aquila). The seismic sequence was confined to the upper 10–12 km, with the exception of 7 April hypocenter at about 15 km depth. This maps shows the seismic sequence (foreshocks, main event, aftershocks) from 01.01.2009 to 31.12.2009. Earthquakes (about 13.000) are represented in two ways: the foreshock in blue and main event with the aftershocks classified according to the magnitude (ML) in four classes.