The 1703 Apennine earthquakes
- When
- 1703
- Where
- Norcia; L'Aquila
- Episodes
- 2
In January and February 1703, a sequence of three major earthquakes struck the central Apennines of Italy. The events occurred near Norcia, Montereale, and L'Aquila, demonstrating a southward progression over 36 kilometers and involving active faults in the region.
Episodes
- Norcia Initial Shock
The first major earthquake of the sequence occurred near Norcia on 14 January 1703.
- L'Aquila Final Shock
The sequence concluded with a major earthquake near L'Aquila on 2 February 1703.
Background and detail
Overview. The 1703 Apennine earthquakes comprised a sequence of three magnitude 6 or greater events in central Italy. Occurring over 19 days, the epicenters shifted southwards from Norcia to L'Aquila, engaging all known active faults between these locations.
Casualties. A total of about 10,000 people are estimated to have died as a result of these earthquakes. However, because of the overlap in areas affected by the three events, casualty numbers remain highly uncertain.
People involved
Sources
- 1703 Apennine earthquakes Wikipedia, revision of 2026-07-26
Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.