The recent earthquakes in Italy

[epenguin]

Can anybody throw any light, illuminating also to those totally ignorant of geology, on the recent earthquakes in the Reggio-Emilia region of Italy? Considering that this region had not been classified as of high risk (and so the regulations for buildings are not as cautious as elsewhere). What is the explanation for what happened unexpectedly, does it suggest a modified overall model, could the quake have knock-on effects elsewhere in the country, or change the expectations for elsewhere, would it be expected to remain exceptional for the RE region or would further trouble be expected there?

 

[Astronuc]

There is some discussion in this thread - Earthquakes: Mag 6 N. Italy and Mag 5.6 W. Bulgaria
https://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?t=607896

See also - Historical Seismicity - http://neic.usgs.gov/neis/bulletin/neic_b000a1mn_h.html

Seismic Hazard Map of N. Italy - http://neic.usgs.gov/neis/bulletin/neic_b000a1mn_w.html

Shaker map - http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/shakemap/global/shake/b000a1mn/

These are related to the 5.8 mag earthquake of Tuesday, May 29, 2012 at 07:00:03 UTC

Of course the area is at high risk, and buildings should be build to a code to withstand strong earthquakes.