2008 Parma earthquake
Encyclopedia
The 2008 Parma earthquake was an earthquake
with a magnitude
of approximately 5.2 that struck Parma
in Emilia-Romagna
on the 23 December 2008 at 16:25 CET
(local time) and was reportedly felt in Bologna
, Milan
and Florence
, and even Trieste
.
Although no injuries and only minor damage was reported, the earthquake was relatively strong for the area, with the last strong earthquake in Italy (with a magnitude of approximately 5.4) being in 2002 in Molise
.
An aftershock
with a magnitude of around 4.7 also struck the Parma area at approximately 23:00 (local time)
Earthquake
An earthquake is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves. The seismicity, seismism or seismic activity of an area refers to the frequency, type and size of earthquakes experienced over a period of time...
with a magnitude
Richter magnitude scale
The expression Richter magnitude scale refers to a number of ways to assign a single number to quantify the energy contained in an earthquake....
of approximately 5.2 that struck Parma
Parma
Parma is a city in the Italian region of Emilia-Romagna famous for its ham, its cheese, its architecture and the fine countryside around it. This is the home of the University of Parma, one of the oldest universities in the world....
in Emilia-Romagna
Emilia-Romagna
Emilia–Romagna is an administrative region of Northern Italy comprising the two historic regions of Emilia and Romagna. The capital is Bologna; it has an area of and about 4.4 million inhabitants....
on the 23 December 2008 at 16:25 CET
Central European Time
Central European Time , used in most parts of the European Union, is a standard time that is 1 hour ahead of Coordinated Universal Time . The time offset from UTC can be written as +01:00...
(local time) and was reportedly felt in Bologna
Bologna
Bologna is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna, in the Po Valley of Northern Italy. The city lies between the Po River and the Apennine Mountains, more specifically, between the Reno River and the Savena River. Bologna is a lively and cosmopolitan Italian college city, with spectacular history,...
, Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
and Florence
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
, and even Trieste
Trieste
Trieste is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is situated towards the end of a narrow strip of land lying between the Adriatic Sea and Italy's border with Slovenia, which lies almost immediately south and east of the city...
.
Although no injuries and only minor damage was reported, the earthquake was relatively strong for the area, with the last strong earthquake in Italy (with a magnitude of approximately 5.4) being in 2002 in Molise
2002 Molise earthquake
The 2002 Molise earthquake was a magnitude 5.9 earthquake that hit the Italian regions of Molise and Puglia on October 31, 2002 at 10:32:58 . The depth of the earthquake was ....
.
An aftershock
Aftershock
An aftershock is a smaller earthquake that occurs after a previous large earthquake, in the same area of the main shock. If an aftershock is larger than the main shock, the aftershock is redesignated as the main shock and the original main shock is redesignated as a foreshock...
with a magnitude of around 4.7 also struck the Parma area at approximately 23:00 (local time)