Date: August 30, 2023 | Time: 16:28:00 UTC | Coordinates: 37.765, 14.939 | Depth: 21 km | Magnitude: Md 2.9
Today, on the INGV earthquake map, we can see an earthquake swarm that already occurred on August 30th. The earthquake sequence consisted of 13 tremors with magnitudes greater than 1. The strongest earthquake occurred at 16:28 UTC and reached a magnitude of Md 2.9. The hypocenter was located at a depth of 21 km, and the epicenter was identified as 1.4 km southwest of Monte Scavo, a wooded scoria cone in the northwest of Mount Etna. The nearest major town is Bronte. The weakest earthquake had a magnitude of 1.4 and had a similarly deep hypocenter as the strong earthquake. It is suspected that the earthquake swarm was triggered by magma rising in the upper part of the asthenosphere, on its way to penetrate the Earth’s crust. Earthquakes at this depth are more the exception than the rule, but it cannot be ruled out that they could have been purely tectonic in origin.