Assessing the Reliability of Earthquake Environmental Effects in Historical Events: Insights from the Southern Apennines, Italy

Earthquake Environmental Effects (EEEs) are a common occurrence following moderate to strong seismic events. EEEs are described in literary sources even for earthquakes that occurred hundreds of years ago, but their potential for hazard assessment is not fully exploited. Here we analyze five earthquakes occurred in the Southern Apennines (Italy) between 1688 and 1980, to assess if EEEs are reliable indicators of the effects caused by past earthquakes. We investigate the spatial distribution of EEEs and their ability to repeatedly occur at the same place, and we quantitatively compare the macroseismic fields expressed in terms of damage-based intensity (MCS: Mercalli–Cancani–Sieberg) to the Environmental Scale Intensity (ESI) macroseismic field, derived from an intensity attenuation relation. We computed the field “ESI-MCS”, showing that results are consistent when comparing different seismic events and that ESI values are higher in the first ca. 10 km from the epicenter, while at distances greater than 20 km MCS values are higher than ESI. Our research demonstrates that (i) EEEs offer a detailed picture of earthquake effects in the near field and (ii) the reappraisal of literary sources under a modern perspective may provide improved input parameters that are useful for seismic hazard assessment.

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Comparison of Earthquake Environmental Effects and ESI intensities for recent seismic events in different tectonic settings: Sichuan (SW China) and Central Apennines (Italy)

Engineering Geology ◽

10.1016/j.enggeo.2019.105149 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 258 ◽

pp. 105149 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Ni Huayong ◽

Ge Hua ◽

Gao Yanchao ◽

Anna Maria Blumetti ◽

Valerio Comerci ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Environmental Effects ◽

Seismic Events ◽

Central Apennines ◽

Sw China ◽

Tectonic Settings ◽

Earthquake Environmental Effects

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Advances and limitations of the Environmental Seismic Intensity scale (ESI 2007) regarding near-field and far-field effects from recent earthquakes in Greece: implications for the seismic hazard assessment

Geological Society London Special Publications ◽

10.1144/sp316.2 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 316 (1) ◽

pp. 11-30 ◽

Cited By ~ 13

Author(s):

I. D. Papanikolaou ◽

D. I. Papanikolaou ◽

E. L. Lekkas

Keyword(s):

Seismic Hazard ◽

Hazard Assessment ◽

Near Field ◽

Seismic Hazard Assessment ◽

Seismic Intensity ◽

Far Field ◽

Intensity Scale ◽

Field Effects ◽

Recent Earthquakes ◽

Seismic Intensity Scale

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An unknown destructive earthquake in 18th century Sicily

Annals of Geophysics ◽

10.4401/ag-4060 ◽

1995 ◽

Vol 38 (5-6) ◽

Author(s):

D. Mariotti

Keyword(s):

Seismic Hazard ◽

Hazard Assessment ◽

Environmental Risk ◽

High Intensity ◽

18Th Century ◽

Seismic Hazard Assessment ◽

Seismic Events ◽

Industrial Complex ◽

Administrative Records ◽

North Eastern

The current Italian seismic catalogues are generally considered complete, as regards the destructive seismic events which occurred from the 17th century onwards. In fact, research performed using target methodologies still reveal earthquakes of high intensity, not yet known to the seismological tradition. This is the case of an earthquake which occurred on 14 September 1780, which caused serious damage and victims in some towns of the Tyrrhenian coast of North-eastern Sicily (I0, = VIII MCS). The information reported in an anonymous printed account was verified in the administrative records; this allowed a reconstruction of a macroseismic outline of great interest, which may make more precise the seismic hazard assessment in an area at high environmental risk due to the presence in Milazzo of an important chemico-industrial complex.

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Erratum to: The environmental effects of the 1743 Salento earthquake (Apulia, southern Italy): a contribution to seismic hazard assessment of the Salento Peninsula

Natural Hazards ◽

10.1007/s11069-016-2610-8 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 86 (S2) ◽

pp. 325-325 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

R. Nappi ◽

G. Gaudiosi ◽

G. Alessio ◽

M. De Lucia ◽

S. Porfido

Keyword(s):

Seismic Hazard ◽

Hazard Assessment ◽

Environmental Effects ◽

Southern Italy ◽

Seismic Hazard Assessment

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Models of the macroseismic field earthquakes and their influence on seismic hazard assessment values for Central Asia

Geodynamics & Tectonophysics ◽

10.5800/gt-2020-11-3-0494 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 11 (3) ◽

pp. 606-623

Author(s):

T. U. Artikov ◽

R. S. Ibragimov ◽

T. L. Ibragimova ◽

M. A. Mirzaev

Keyword(s):

Seismic Hazard ◽

Central Asia ◽

Hazard Assessment ◽

Seismic Hazard Assessment ◽

Seismic Intensity ◽

Seismic Load ◽

Macroseismic Data ◽

Intensity Attenuation ◽

Macroseismic Field ◽

Macroseismic Scale

Seismic intensity assessment in points of a macroseismic scale plays an important role for researching the seismic history of areas characterized by active seismicity, as well as for construction (and updating) of seismic zoning maps in various scales. Macroseismic scale points are generally referred to in construction standards applied in the majority of post-Soviet states. In our study aimed to model the macroseismic field of earthquakes, a large volume of macroseismic data on Central Asia was analyzed, and coefficients used in Blake–Shebalin and Covesligeti equations were aligned. This article presents a generalized dependence model of macroseismic intensity attenuation with distance. The model takes into account seismic load features determined by various depths of earthquakes. The ratios of small and big axes of the ellipse, that approximates real isoseists, are estimated with respect to seismic scale points, earthquake depths and magnitudes. The East Uzbekistan area is studied as an example to investigate whether seismic hazard assessment values may differ depending on a chosen law of seismic influence intensity attenuation with distance.

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