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The 4.6-magnitude earthquake, recorded by the Ingv seismic network at 21-27 yesterday, December 22, 2020, blew up half of Sicily, prompting many to spend the night in the car. The epicenter, the stretch of the earth’s crust above the point where the underground movement originated, was located between the provinces of Ragusa and Caltanissetta, off the coast. The closest towns are, in order, Vittoria, Acate, Santa Croce Camerina and Gela. The hypocenter, the area where the earthquake “was born”, lies at a depth of about 30 kilometers below the earth’s crust.
Etna did not affect the earthquake
“This made it possible – explains Ingv’s volcanologist Boris Bhenke – for the impact to be felt over a fairly vast territory. There is no connection between this earthquake and the activity on Etna. It was an Iblean earthquake. very typical, of modest magnitude: 4.6 should not be considered a particularly worrisome intensity. But limestone rocks transmit seismic waves well. “
The current scenario
A similar episode occurred years ago, on February 8, 2016, with an earthquake of magnitude 4.6 that raised the alarm among the population, however having consequences. “Even in that case – continues Bhenke – there were no subsequent aftershocks. It is never possible to exclude with absolute certainty that other aftershock episodes may occur, but it is reasonable to think that it was an isolated event. If an earthquake had occurred so strong as to be able to cause the movement of a nearby fault, also charged with energy and ready to break, the conditions would have been given to think about other short-term events. But the current picture is decidedly different ”. Especially different from that of December 26, 2018, which affected the Etna province with much more serious consequences for the Etna population, in particular for the villages of Fleri, Piano D’Api and Santa Venerina. In that case, our volcano was completely involved.
