1930 Senigallia earthquake

Earthquake in Italy

1930 Senigallia earthquake

UTC time| 1930-10-30 07:13:10
ISC event| 907677
USGS-ANSS| ComCat
Local date| October 30, 1930 (1930-10-30)
Local time| 08:13:10
Magnitude| 5.8 ML
Epicenter| 43°40′01″N 13°16′01″E﻿ / ﻿43.667°N 13.267°E﻿ / 43.667; 13.267[1]
Areas affected| Italy, Senigallia
Casualties| 18 dead

The 1930 Senigallia earthquake struck the city of Senigallia in central Italy on October 30. It occurred just a few months after the destructive 1930 Irpinia earthquake, which had caused over 1,400 casualties in the southern part of the country.

## Geology[edit]

The coastline in the area around Senigallia is controlled by active thrust faulting at the leading edge of the North Apennines fold and thrust belt. Movement on a blind thrust, the Senigallia Fault, has caused folding in the area around the port forming an anticline that extends about 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) parallel to the coast. The rupture area for the 1930 earthquake is thought to have measured about 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) along strike and 6.9 kilometres (4.3 mi) down dip.[2][3][4]

## Earthquake[edit]

A foreshock preceded the main earthquake by a few minutes. Its loud rumble was heard by many, although the shock caused little damage. After hearing this warning noise, people fled the buildings they were in, flooding out onto the streets. Shortly after this the main shock came, at 8:10 a.m.,[5] with a magnitude of 5.9 on the Richter scale.[6]

The earthquake affected the whole central and northwestern part of the Italian peninsula, with its epicenter near the city of Senigallia. Other major cities, such as Ancona and Fano, were damaged too, as were other settlements such as Montemarciano, Mondolfo, San Costanzo and some forty other small towns. The quake was assessed at level VIII (Severe) to IX (Violent) on the Mercalli intensity scale.

The earthquake was felt from Istria to Apulia, along the whole of Italy's Adriatic shoreline, and as far across as Naples on the opposite coast of Italy. The aftershocks which followed lasted for over a month. A small tsunami struck the harbour at Ancona, but only one moored steamship was damaged.[6]

## Casualties[edit]

The earthquake took only 18 lives (14 in Senigallia, 4 in Ancona), but many more were injured. Thanks to the foreshock alerting the people, casualties were quite low, but many were wounded by debris falling from the damaged buildings.

Many families became refugees, and had to live in tents and makeshift shelters. The region's tourist industry experienced much trouble in the following years, despite government assistance.

Whole districts of Ancona, such as Capodimonte and San Lazzaro, were abandoned; the residents left for the countryside. People from Senigallia built encampments in the town's outskirts and occupied summer camps and rail coaches.[6]

## Damage[edit]

Many towns reported severe damage. In San Costanzo, 25 houses collapsed, and twice as much were damaged beyond repair. 450 buildings needed restoration work, but luckily no one perished, and only one inhabitant was wounded.

In Mondolfo, the damage was worse. The 15 second shock destroyed 60 houses, and 39 were severely damaged. Another 540 displayed cracks in the walls, while 20 people were injured.[6]

In Fano, the shock was much shorter (due to the different composition of the ground), about five seconds, but 86 houses suffered critical, 1197 severe and 2880 light damage, while six people required medical assistance.[6]

Marotta, Mombaroccio, Cartoceto, Saltara, Candelara, Sant'Ippolito, Sorbolongo, Urbino, Fossombrone and Sant'Andrea di Suasa all reported some damage. More severely affected were Monteporzio, Fratte Rosa, Serrungarina and Urbania.[6]

The old town of Senigallia, rich in monuments and businesses, was practically destroyed: the city lost its importance as a harbor and trade hub of the Adriatic Sea, along with its cultural heritage. The stone building decorations were mostly replaced by concrete or plaster fillings, compromising the look of the city center. The Misa River, used as a harbor channel, had to have new concrete embankments and lost its scenic attractiveness. Rebuilding worsened the damage; most repairable buildings were demolished to make way for new construction. The outcome was a decline in city population, importance and tourist appeal. The population shrank 70% over the next five decades.[7]

## See also[edit]

* List of earthquakes in 1930
* List of earthquakes in Italy

## References[edit]

1. ^ Guidoboni, Emanuela; Ferrari G.; Mariotti D.; Comastri A.; Tarabusi G. & Valensise G. (2007). "CFTI4Med, Catalogue of Strong Earthquakes in Italy (461 B.C. – 1997) and Mediterranean Area (760 B.C. – 1500)". INGV-SGA. Archived from the original on 22 July 2011. Retrieved 22 July 2011.
2. ^ Pessina, V.; Scandella L.; Franceschina G. & Lai C.G. (2008). "Seismic Risk assessment of Italian seaports: the case of Ancona (Italy)" (PDF). The 14 th World Conference on Earthquake Engineering October 12–17, 2008, Beijing, China. Retrieved 24 July 2011.
3. ^ Basili, R.; Mirabella F.; Vannoli P. & Valensise G. (2004). "Identifying Blind Seismogenic Faults at the Apennine Thrust Front: Implications for the Seismic Hazard of the Northern Marche (Central Italy) Coastal Belt". American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2004, Abstract #T14C-07. 14: T14C–07. Bibcode:2004AGUFM.T14C..07B.
4. ^ Favali, P.; Frugoni F.; Monna D.; Rainone M.L.; Signanini P. & Smriglio G. (1995). "The 1930 earthquake and the town of Senigallia (Central Italy): an approach to seismic risk evaluation" (PDF). Annali di Geofisica. 38 (5–6). Retrieved 24 July 2011.
5. ^ "Earthquake chronicle according to a student of Senigallia Seminary". Archived from the original on 28 March 2012. Retrieved 25 July 2011.
6. ^ a b c d e f "Terremoto del 30.10.1930, Marche settentrionali (Senigallia)". Retrieved 22 July 2011.
7. ^ "Piano di recupero del centro storico" (PDF). Comune di Senigallia. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-09-29. Retrieved 22 July 2011.

## External links[edit]

* Protezione Civile di Macerata – Shocks distribution, road damage and intensity
* The International Seismological Centre has a bibliography and/or authoritative data for this event.

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Earthquakes in the 1930s

1930|

* Bago (7.5, May 5) †
* Salmas (7.1, May 6) †‡
* Irpinia (6.6, July 3) †
* Dhubri (7.1, July 3)
* Senigallia (5,8, Oct 30)
* North Izu (7.3, Nov 26) †
* Pyu (7.3, Dec 4) †

1931|

* Oaxaca (7.8, Jan 15) †
* Myitkyina (7.6, Jan 28)
* Hawke's Bay (7.8, Feb 3) †
* Nicaragua (5.6, Mar 31) †
* Zangezur (6.5, Apr 27)
* North Sea (6.1, June 7)
* Fuyun (7.9, Aug 10) †‡
* Texas (6.5, Aug 16)
* Sumatra (7.3, Sep 25)

1932|

* Jalisco (8.2 & 7.7 & 7.0, June 3 & 18 & 22) †
* Eureka (6.4, June 6)
* Ierissos (7.0 Sept 26) †‡
* Cedar Mountain (7.2, Dec 20)
* Changma (7.6, Dec 25) †

1933|

* Sanriku (8.4, Mar 2) †
* Long Beach (6.4, Mar 10) †
* Kos (6.4, Apr 23) †
* Sumatra (7.7, Jun 24) †
* Diexi (7.3 Aug 25) †‡
* Baffin Bay (7.7, Nov 20)

1934|

* Bihar (8.0, January 15) † ‡
* Pahiatua (7.6, Mar 5)
* Hansel Valley (6.6, March 12)

1935|

* Erdek–Marmara Islands (7.4, Jan 4)
* Shinchiku-Taichū (7.1, Apr 21) †
* Digor (6.1, May 1) †
* Quetta (7.7, May 31) †‡
* Helena (6.2, Oct 19)
* Timiskaming (6.1, Nov 1)
* Sumatra (7.7, Dec 28)

1939|

* Chillán (7.9, Jan 25) †
* Oga (7.0, May 1)
* Erzincan (7.8, Dec 27) †‡

† indicates earthquake resulting in at least 30 deaths
‡ indicates the deadliest earthquake of the year

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Earthquakes in Italy

Historical|

* 62 Pompeii
* 1117 Verona
* 1169 Sicily
* 1222 Brescia
* 1343 Naples
* 1348 Friuli
* 1456 Central Italy
* 1570 Ferrara
* 1626 Girifalco
* 1627 Gargano
* 1638 Calabrian
* 1639 Amatrice
* 1688 Sannio
* 1693 Sicily
* 1694 Irpinia–Basilicata
* 1703 Apennine
* 1706 Abruzzo
* 1732 Irpinia
* 1743 Salento
* 1783 Calabrian
* 1805 Molise
* 1857 Basilicata
* 1873 Alpago
* 1883 Casamicciola
* 1887 Liguria

20th century|

* 1905 Calabria
* 1907 Calabria
* 1908 Messina
* 1915 Avezzano
* 1920 Garfagnana
* 1930 Irpinia
* 1930 Senigallia
* 1936 Cansiglio
* 1962 Irpinia
* 1968 Belice
* 1971 Tuscania
* 1976 Friuli
* 1980 Irpinia
* 1990 Carlentini
* 1997 Umbria and Marche

21st century|

* 2002 Molise
* 2009 L'Aquila
* 2012 Northern Italy
* August 2016 Central Italy
* October 2016 Central Italy
* January 2017 Central Italy
* 2017 Ischia
* 2018 Molise

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