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ROME Be one of the 150 shocks of earthquake with magnitude 3 that occur every year in Italy, yesterday ai Castelli Romani it has been widely heard, and how. The earth began to shake at 2 pm, between Lariano, Rocca Priora me Velletri. The walls of the houses of Some, common in the center of the Alban Hills, visibly vibrated. From the capital itself, dozens of complaints have come from citizens who felt the tremor and who were immediately concerned.
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Fortunately, it soon became clear that there was no damage to people or property, as reported immediately by the Fire Department. According to reports from the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (Ingv), the epicenter of the shock is located in the municipality of Lariano. After a first shock of magnitude 3, others of less intensity followed. Two, in particular, with magnitudes 2.0 and 2.4.
THE RISK
“These shocks serve to remind us that even the Castelli Romani area should be considered at risk of seismicism, as indeed a large part of our country is,” says geologist Carlo Doglioni, president of Ingv and tenured professor of Geodynamics in the Department. of Sciences of the Earth of the Sapienza University of Rome. There are two possible origins of the earthquake. “The tremors occurred right at a vulcan that we know well and that is active, Colli Albani: then it is possible that the earthquake is attributable to the activity inside the magmatic conduit, that cylinder that is located under an area that crosses Frascati, Velletri and Rocca di Papa ”, he explains. Doglioni. Given the low magnitude of the tremors, it is plausible, according to the expert, that the origin, therefore, must be attributed to natural movements linked to the activity of an active volcano. But there is another possibility. “In addition to the seismicity of the Lazio volcano, there would also be that derived from tectonics,” says Doglioni. “Along the strip from Frosinone to Tivoli there is actually an active seismic fault,” he adds.
The reason why, despite this geological conformation, earthquakes in this area tend to be not very devastating, at least in recent years, is due to the relatively low magnitude, much more than that of the large earthquakes that occur in the Apennines, and also to the depth from which they depart. “The greater the depth, the less damage it can cause,” says Doglioni. According to reports from Ingv, the tremors occurred at a depth of 10.4 kilometers. In past centuries, however, the Colli Albani area has been the scene of much stronger and more devastating earthquakes than those recorded yesterday afternoon. On August 26, 1806, a 5.5 magnitude earthquake generated by the volcano below the Castelli Romani caused damage and deaths in Genzano, Rocca di Papa and Velletri.
A century later, precisely on July 19, 1899, the earth shook in the Colli Albani area with partial collapses and injuries, including important monuments, such as the Church of the Gesù, San Giovanni in Laterano, Palazzo Chigi, Palazzo Sciarra, the Aurelian Walls. . Damage was also recorded in many historic villas, such as Villa Torlonia, Senni, Rasponi, Aldobrandini, Muti, and the Ruffinella palace. And then another infamous earthquake linked to the activity of the Lazio volcano, the one on December 26, 1927 with a magnitude of 4.8 with consequences that affected many municipalities, such as Nemi, Genzano, Lanuvio, Ariccia, Albano Laziale and Velletri.
What will happen in the next few days or even the next few years underground in the Castelli Romani is impossible to predict. “It is possible that in the next few days we will register some small new aftershocks, as usually happens and as has happened in the hours after the magnitude 3 shock registered,” says the expert. Whether or not there will be an earthquake of the same magnitude or even greater than the first one yesterday, we cannot really know and therefore do not even exclude it. “It is good to always remember: to date we do not have the tools to predict an earthquake, but we are working to get there”, concludes Doglioni.
Last updated: 07:04
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