Magnitude 5.1 Earthquake beneath northern Tuscany, Italy.

The United States Geological Survey recorded a Magnitude 5.1 Earthquake at a depth of 10 km, roughly 60 km to the northeast of the city of Florence in Tuscany, northern Italy, at about 5.10 am local time (about 3.10 am GMT) on Monday 18 September 2023. There are no reports of any damage ot casualties associated with this event, although people have reported feeling it across much of northern Italy.

The approximate location of the 18 September 2023 Tuscany Earthquake. USGS.

Italy is in an unusual tectonic setting, with the west of the country lying on the Eurasian Plate, but the east of the country lying on the Adriatic Plate, a microplate which broke away from North Africa some time in the past and which is now wedged into the southern margin of Europe, underlying eastern Italy, the Adriatic Sea and the west of the Balkan Peninsula. This, combined with the northward movement of the African Plate into Italy from the south, leads to uplift in the Apennine Mountains that run the length of the country, and makes Italy extremely prone to Earthquakes. 

Outline map showing the approximate positions of the Eurasian (EU), Adriatic (AD) and African (AF) Plates. Di Bucci & Mazzuli (2003).

See also...

Follow Sciency Thoughts on Facebook.

Follow Sciency Thoughts on Twitter. 

Magnitude 5.7 Earthquake in Bosnia and Herzegovina kills at least one.

The Centre Sismologique Euro-Méditerranéen recorded a Magnitude 5.7 Earthquake at a depth of 5 km, roughly 42 km to the southeast of the city of Mostar in southern Bosnia and Herzegovina, slightly after 11.05 pm local time (slightly after 9.05 pm GMT) on Friday 22 April 2022. People have felt this event across the western Balkan Peninsula and much of Italy, with reports of damage from several towns and cities in the region. A 28-year-old woman died and several other people were injured in the town of Stolac, near Mostar, when a boulder dislodged from a hillside by the quake crashed into a house.

 

The approximate location of the 22 April 2022 Bosnia and Herzegovina Earthquake. USGS.

Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the other states of the western Balkan Peninsula, form the eastern margin of the Adriatic Plate, a piece of the African Plate that has broken away and is now wedged into the southern part of the Eurasian Plate. This is being squeezed by the impact of Africa into Europe from the south, which is pushing western Italy, which sits on the Eurasian Plate, to the east, and Greece and Turkey, which sit on the Aegean and Anatolian Plates, to the west. This squeezing leads to uplift around the margins of the Adriatic Plate, in the Apennines Mountain Range of central Italy and the mountain ranges of the west Balkan Peninsula.

 

Outline map showing the approximate positions of the Eurasian (EU), Adriatic (AD) and African (AF) Plates. Di Bucci & Mazzuli (2003).

See also...

Follow Sciency Thoughts on Facebook.

Follow Sciency Thoughts on Twitter.

 

Magnitude 6.4 Earthquake in central Croatia kills at least seven.

The Centre Sismologique Euro-Méditerranéen recorded a Magnitude 6.4 Earthquake at a depth of 10 km, roughly 3 km to the southwest of the town of Petrinja in central Croatia, slightly before 12.20 pm local time (slightly before 11.20 am GMT) on Tuesday 29 2020. The Earthquake is reported to have caused significant damage, with at least seven fatalities, and was felt across much of Europe. Several aftershocks have been reported following the initial event.

 

The approximate location of the 29 December 2020 Croatian Earthquake. USGS.

Five of the reported casualties occurred in the village of Glina, which is reported to have been completely destroyed by the Earthquake. A twelve-year-old girl has died in the town of Petrinja, where about half of the buildings were either destroyed or are currently thought unsafe to use. A seventh person was found dead in a collapsed church in the village of Žažina. In addition to the known fatalities, twenty six people are being treated in hospitals for a variety of injuries, and many more have been made homeless by the event, with many being temporarily rehomed in emergency accommodation at a nearby military base. Much of the area has also lost its electricity supplies.

 

Rescue workers clearing debris and searching for survivors following a Magnitude 6.4 Earthquake in Croatia on 29 December 2020. Damir Sencar/AFP/Getty Images.

Croatia, and the other states of the western Balkan Peninsula, form the eastern margin of the Adriatic Plate, a piece of the African Plate that has broken away and is now wedged into the southern part of the Eurasian Plate. This is being squeezed by the impact of Africa into Europe from the south, which is pushing western Italy, which sits on the Eurasian Plate, to the east, and Greece and Turkey, which sit on the Aegean and Anatolian Plates, to the west. This squeezing leads to uplift around the margins of the Adriatic Plate, in the Apennines Mountain Range of central Italy and the mountain ranges of the west Balkan Peninsula.

 

Outline map showing the approximate positions of the Eurasian (EU), Adriatic (AD) and African (AF) Plates. Di Bucci & Mazzuli (2003).

See also...

Follow Sciency Thoughts on Facebook.

Follow Sciency Thoughts on Twitter.

 

Magnitude 5.0 Earthquake in North Macedonia.

The United States Geological Survey recorded a Magnitude 5.0 Earthquake at a depth of about 8.5 km, about 8 km southwest of the village of Vrutok in North Macedonia slightly before 4.55 am local time (slightly before 3.55 am GMT) on Wednesday 11 November 2020. This was felt across North Macedonia, Albania, Montenegro, southern Serbia, and parts of Bulgaria, but there are no reports of any damage or injuries.

The approximate location of the 11 November 2020 North Macedonia County, Earthquake. USGS.

North Macedonia, and the other states of the western Balkan Peninsula, form the eastern margin of the Adriatic Plate, a piece of the African Plate that has broken away and is now wedged into the southern part of the Eurasian Plate. This is being squeezed by the impact of Africa into Europe from the south, which is pushing western Italy, which sits on the Eurasian Plate, to the east, and Greece and Turkey, which sit on the Aegean and Anatolian Plates, to the west. This squeezing leads to uplift around the margins of the Adriatic Plate, in the Apennines Mountain Range of central Italy and the mountain ranges of the west Balkan Peninsula.

 

Outline map showing the approximate positions of the Eurasian (EU), Adriatic (AD) and African (AF) Plates. Di Bucci & Mazzuli (2003).

Witness accounts of Earthquakes can help geologists to understand these events, and the structures that cause them. The international non-profit organisation Earthquake Report is interested in hearing from people who may have felt this event; if you felt this quake then you can report it to Earthquake Report here.

See also...

Follow Sciency Thoughts on Facebook.

Follow Sciency Thoughts on Twitter.

Magnitude 4.5 Earthquake in southern Bulgaria.

The United States Geological Survey recorded a Magnitude 4.5 Earthquake at a depth of 10 km, roughly 9 km to the southeast of the town of Rakovski in Plovdiv Province, in southern Bulgaria, slightly after 2.00 pm local time (slightly after 11.00 am GMT) on Friday 1 May 2020. There are no reports of any damage or injuries arising from this event, but it was felt over most of southern Bulgaria and in parts of northern Greece.

The approximate location of the 1 May2020 Bulgaria, Earthquake. USGS.

The geology of the Balkan Peninsula is complex. Bulgaria lies on the Eurasian Plate, but it is surrounded by a number of microplates created by the collision of Africa with Europe from the south. Southern Greece lies on the Aegean Sea Plate, a breakaway part of the Eurasian Plate, which is being pushed to the southwest by the westward movement of the Anatolian Plate, another breakaway part of the Eurasian Plate underlying Turkey. This is in turn being pushed west by the northeasterly motion of the Arabian Plate, a breakaway part of the African Plate. The western part of the Balkan Peninsula, and the eastern part of Italy are underlain by the Adriatic (or Apulian) Plate, a breakaway part of the African Plate which has pushed like a wedge into southern Europe.

 Map showing the movement of the microplates of the eastern Mediterranean. Kotzev et al. (1998).

Thus the rocks of Bulgaria are being pulled to the southwest by the movement of the Aegean Sea Plate and pushed to the northeast by the movement of the Apulian Plate. This has resulted in a number of faults bisecting the country, forming the Pernic Fault Zone, the Vitosha Fault Zone, the Zheleznitsa Fault Zone and the Sophia Graben (a Graben is an area of geological extension).

Map showing the extensive faulting across Bulgaria. Bulgarian Academy of Science/Geological Institute.

Witness accounts of Earthquakes can help geologists to understand these events, and the structures that cause them. The international non-profit organisation Earthquake Report is interested in hearing from people who may have felt this event; if you felt this quake then you can report it to Earthquake Report here.

See also...

Follow Sciency Thoughts on Facebook.

Magnitude 4.9 Earthquake in Galați County, Romania.

The United States Geological Survey recorded a Magnitude 4.9 Earthquake at a depth of 10 km, roughly 5 km to the southeast of the commune of Muntini in Galați County, in southeast Carpathian Romania, slightly before 1.05 am local time on Friday 24 April 2020 (slightly before 10.05 pm on Thursday 23 April 2020 GMT). There are no reports of any damage or injuries arising from this event, but it was felt over much of eastern Romania, Moldova, western Ukraine, and northeastern Bulgaria.

The approximate location of the 24 April 2020 Galați County, Earthquake. USGS.

 

The Carpathian Mountains of Romania form part of the suture formed when the Tethys Ocean closed during the Mesozoic, joining the continents of Laurasia (to the north) and Gondwana (to the south). The area is now internal to the Eurasian continent, but the area to the south, known as the Moesian Platform, has a separate origin to the rest of Europe. This system is once again being stressed by the impact of Africa into Eurasia from the south, with the Anatolian Plate (which underlies Anatolian Turkey), Aegean Plate (which underlies southern Greece) and Adriatic Plate (which underlies eastern Italy and the western Balkan Peninsula) caught between the two larger units, leading to a more complex interplay of stresses across southeastern Europe. The Antatolian and Aegean Plates are located to the south of the Moesian Platform, and are being pushed to the west, while the Adriatic Plate lies to the west of the Aegean Plate and Moesian Platform, and is being pushed to the northeast.

Witness accounts of Earthquakes can help geologists to understand these events, and the structures that cause them. The international non-profit organisation Earthquake Report is interested in hearing from people who may have felt this event; if you felt this quake then you can report it to Earthquake Report here.

See also...

Follow Sciency Thoughts on Facebook.

Magnitude 5.4 Earthquake in northern Croatia.

The Centre Sismologique Euro-Méditerranéen recorded a Magnitude 5.4 Earthquake at a depth of 10 km, roughly 7 km to the northeast of Zhagreb in northern Croatia, slightly before 6.25 am local time (slightly before 5.25 am GMT) on Sunday 22 March 2020. The Earthquake is reported to have caused a number of injuries in Zhagreb, with one fifteen-year-old having died as a result, and damaged a number of buildings across the city. It was felt across most of Croatia and Slovenia, as well as northern Bosnia and Herzogovinia and Serbia, western Hungary and Slovakia, the southern Czech Republic, and eastern Austria and northeastern Italy.

A car crushed by falling debris following an Earthquake near Zhagreb in Croatia on Sunday 22 March 2020. Anadolu Agency/Getty Images.

Croatia, and the other states of the western Balkan Peninsula, forms the eastern margin of the Adriatic Plate, a piece of the African Plate that has broken away and is now wedged into the southern part of the Eurasian Plate. This is being squeezed by the impact of Africa into Europe from the south, which is pushing western Italy, which sits on the Eurasian Plate, to the east, and Greece and Turkey, which sit on the Aegean and Anatolian Plates, to the west. This squeezing leads to uplift around the margins of the Adriatic Plate, in the Apennines Mountain Range of central Italy and the mountain ranges of the west Balkan Peninsula.

  Outline map showing the approximate positions of the Eurasian (EU), Adriatic (AD) and African (AF) Plates. Di Bucci & Mazzuli (2003).

Witness accounts of Earthquakes can help geologists to understand these events, and the structures that cause them. The international non-profit organisation Earthquake Report is interested in hearing from people who may have felt this event; if you felt this quake then you can report it to Earthquake Report here.

See also...

Follow Sciency Thoughts on Facebook.