Moderate magnitude 4.2 earthquake at 5 km depth4 Mar 06:06 UTC: First to report: VolcanoDiscovery after 1 minute.4 Mar 06:06: Now using data updates from EMSC4 Mar 06:06: Magnitude recalculated from 4.2 to 4.1. Epicenter location corrected by 5.6 km (3.5 mi) towards N.4 Mar 06:06: Magnitude recalculated from 4.1 to 4.2. Hypocenter depth recalculated from 10.00 to 5.00 km (from 6.2 to 3.1 mi). Epicenter location corrected by 2.4 km (1.5 mi) towards SSW.I didn't feel itI felt this quakeEarthquake detailsDate & timeMar 4, 2026 06:05:10 UTC - Local time at epicenterWednesday, Mar 4, 2026, at 06:05 am (Universal Time GMT +0)Statuspreliminary (automatic detection)Magnitude4.2Depth5 kmEpicenter latitude / longitude37.62°N / 14.98°ECatania, Sicily, ItalySeismic antipode37.62°S / 165.02°WShaking intensityV Moderate shaking near epicenterFelt1 reportPrimary data sourceEMSC (European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre)Nearest volcanoEtna (15 km / 9 mi)Estimated seismic energy released1.3 x 1011 joules (35 megawatt hours, equivalent to 30.1 tons of TNT) | equivalent to ONE quake of magnitude 4.2 | about seismic energy2 minutes ago reported feltMar 4, 2026 06:05 GMT / Mar 4, 2026 06:05 am (Universal Time)Lat / Lng: 37.62 / 14.98: Sicily, ItalySource: EMSCDetail info | Read user reports | You felt it? - Report it!';storedMarkers.push(['quake-22772141',37.62000,14.98000,'2 minutes ago: Mag. 4.2, Sicily, Italy',html,'quakes-6-24.png',25,25,12,12,125]); function mkRep(id,notFelt){var nFelt=notFelt||false;var src="https://www.volcanoesandearthquakes.com/app/earthquake-report.php?quakeId="+id;if(nFelt==true){src+="¬Felt=true";}window.open(src,"","status=0,toolbar=0,location=0,directories=0,menubar=0,resizable=1,scrollbars=1,height=400,width=350");} function locationHashChanged(e){-1!=e.oldURL.indexOf("#popupMap")&&closePopup()} window.onhashchange = locationHashChanged; function comment(e){var t=e.parentNode,a=(t.dataset.id,document.getElementById("commentForm"));"none"==a.style.display?(t.appendChild(a),a.style.display="block"):a.style.display="none"}function sendComment(e){var t=e.parentNode,a=t.parentNode.dataset.id,n=document.getElementById("commentContent"),p=n.value.trim();if(p){var o="id="+a+"&quakeId="+thisQuakeId;o+="&comment="+decodeURIComponent(p),mkRequest("//reports.volcanodiscovery.com/app/eqReportComment.php","post",o,function(e){e.responseText;alert("Thank you for submitting your comment!"),t.style.display="none",n.value=""})}}function flagReport(e){var t=e.parentNode.dataset.id;if(confirm("Report this as inappropriate?")){var a="id="+t+"&quakeId="+thisQuakeId+"&flagAsInappropriate=1";mkRequest("//reports.volcanodiscovery.com/app/eqReportComment.php","post",a,function(t){var a=t.responseText;alert(a),e.style.display="none"})}}function likeReport(e){var t="id="+e.parentNode.dataset.id+"&quakeId="+thisQuakeId+"&like=1";mkRequest("//reports.volcanodiscovery.com/app/eqReportComment.php","post",t,function(t){t.responseText;e.style.opacity=.5})}]]>[smaller] [bigger]Most recent quakes Top 20 past 24 hrs Quakes in Sicily SicilyNearby placesThe closest larger town where the quake might have been felt is Catania, a city with more than 310,000 inhabitants in Italy, in 16.3 km (10 mi) distance southeast of the epicenter. People likely experienced light shaking there. Many smaller towns and villages are located closer to the epicenter and might have experienced stronger shaking. In the capital of Italy, Rome, 520 km (323 mi) away from the epicenter, the earthquake could not be felt.The following table shows some of the places that might have been affected (or not) by the shaking.DistancePlaceMax. shaking intensity(*)RegionCountry3 km (2 mi)S of epicenterBelpasso(pop: 16,300)V: ModerateCatania, SicilyItaly7 km (4 mi)E of epicenterPedara(pop: 12,100)IV: LightCatania, SicilyItaly8 km (5 mi)SE of epicenterMascalucia(pop: 32,200)IV: LightCatania, SicilyItaly9 km (5 mi)E of epicenterTrecastagni(pop: 10,100)IV: LightCatania, SicilyItaly9 km (6 mi)SW of epicenterPaterno(pop: 46,000)IV: LightCatania, SicilyItaly10 km (6 mi)SE of epicenterGravina di Catania(pop: 26,500)IV: LightCatania, SicilyItaly10 km (6 mi)W of epicenterBiancavilla(pop: 23,200)IV: LightCatania, SicilyItaly11 km (7 mi)SE of epicenterTremestieri Etneo(pop: 13,700)IV: LightCatania, SicilyItaly11 km (7 mi)SE of epicenterSan Giovanni la Punta(pop: 22,000)IV: LightCatania, SicilyItaly12 km (7 mi)S of epicenterMisterbianco(pop: 45,500)IV: LightCatania, SicilyItaly13 km (8 mi)E of epicenterAci Sant'Antonio(pop: 10,400)IV: LightCatania, SicilyItaly14 km (9 mi)W of epicenterAdrano(pop: 34,400)IV: LightCatania, SicilyItaly14 km (9 mi)E of epicenterAci Catena(pop: 24,700)IV: LightCatania, SicilyItaly16 km (10 mi)SE of epicenterAci Castello(pop: 17,600)IV: LightCatania, SicilyItaly16 km (10 mi)SE of epicenterCatania(pop: 311,600)IV: LightSicilyItaly16 km (10 mi)E of epicenterAcireale(pop: 49,500)IV: LightCatania, SicilyItaly21 km (13 mi)NE of epicenterGiarre(pop: 24,100)IV: LightCatania, SicilyItaly23 km (14 mi)NW of epicenterBronte(pop: 19,100)IV: LightCatania, SicilyItaly23 km (15 mi)NE of epicenterRiposto(pop: 11,700)IV: LightCatania, SicilyItaly29 km (18 mi)N of epicenterRandazzo(pop: 9,950)III: WeakCatania, SicilyItaly36 km (23 mi)SW of epicenterRamacca(pop: 10,100)III: WeakCatania, SicilyItaly37 km (23 mi)S of epicenterLentini(pop: 24,100)III: WeakSyracuse, SicilyItaly38 km (23 mi)S of epicenterCarlentini(pop: 14,900)III: WeakSyracuse, SicilyItaly38 km (24 mi)S of epicenterScordia(pop: 16,600)III: WeakCatania, SicilyItaly38 km (24 mi)SW of epicenterPalagonia(pop: 16,200)III: WeakCatania, SicilyItaly47 km (29 mi)SE of epicenterAugusta(pop: 30,700)III: WeakSyracuse, SicilyItaly59 km (37 mi)SW of epicenterCaltagirone(pop: 38,400)III: WeakCatania, SicilyItaly60 km (37 mi)SW of epicenterPiazza Armerina(pop: 17,700)III: WeakEnna, SicilyItaly62 km (38 mi)S of epicenterFloridia(pop: 22,100)III: WeakSyracuse, SicilyItaly62 km (39 mi)N of epicenterBarcellona Pozzo di Gotto(pop: 34,600)III: WeakProvince of Messina, SicilyItaly63 km (39 mi)W of epicenterEnna(pop: 23,000)III: WeakSicilyItaly66 km (41 mi)SE of epicenterSiracusa(pop: 121,600)III: WeakSyracuse, SicilyItaly71 km (44 mi)N of epicenterMilazzo(pop: 31,800)III: WeakProvince of Messina, SicilyItaly74 km (46 mi)SW of epicenterNiscemi(pop: 26,900)III: WeakProvincia di Caltanissetta, SicilyItaly80 km (50 mi)S of epicenterRagusa(pop: 74,300)II: Very weakSicilyItaly81 km (50 mi)NE of epicenterReggio Calabria(pop: 182,500)II: Very weakCalabriaItaly81 km (50 mi)NE of epicenterMessina(pop: 219,900)II: Very weakSicilyItaly89 km (55 mi)SW of epicenterGela(pop: 75,000)II: Very weakProvincia di Caltanissetta, SicilyItaly152 km (95 mi)W of epicenterPalermo(pop: 648,300)II: Very weakSicilyItaly520 km (323 mi)NW of epicenterRome(pop: 2,318,900)I: Not feltLazioItalyNotes:(*) Shaking intensity according to the Modified Mercalli Intensity Scale (MMI) and estimated using seismic models.User-reports for this quake (1)The first report about ground shaking reached us after only 1 minute, before other agencies reported it. So far, we have received 1 report for this quake. This section is being updated as new data comes in.User reports estimate the perceived ground shaking intensity according to the MMI (Modified Mercalli Intensity) scale.Translate15.9 km SE of epicenter [Map] / Light shaking (MMI IV) (reported through our app)What is Intensity and the Mercalli Intensity Scale?The amount of shaking that occurs on the surface due to an earthquake is called the intensity. It is commonly measured on the so-called Modified Mercalli Intensity Scale (MMI) ranging from 1 (not felt) to 10 (extreme shaking), and given in Roman numerals as I,II,...IX, X, and often displayed with color codes ranging from light blue to dark red.Earthquake intensity depends mainly on the magnitude and depth of the quake as well as the distance from the epicenter: The further away, the less shaking intensity occurs.Read more about the MMI scale!Number of reports by intensityShaking intensityNumber of reportsMin-Max distance from epicenter (*)Average distance (*)IV: Light shaking115.8–15.8 km (9.8–9.8 mi)15.8 km (10 mi)Notes(*) Reports are filtered to exclude those that are likely highly inaccurate or esaggerated.Only reports with latitude/longitude coordinate positions given (1 in total) could be used for geographic statistics.Get the Android appI didn't feel itI felt this quakeIf you were near the epicenter and felt it, please share your experience and submit a short "I felt it" report! Other users would love to hear about it!If you did NOT feel the quake although you were in the area, please report it as well! Your contribution is valuable to earthquake science and seismic hazard analysis.Compare Quake DataData for the same earthquake as reported by different agenciesThe more agencies report about the same quake and post similar data, the more confidence you can have in the data. It takes normally up to a few hours until earthquake parameters are calculated with near-optimum precision.MagDepthTime GMT2026-03-4EpicenterAgency4.25 km3.1 mi06:05:10.8SICILY, ITALYEMSC (European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre)Aftershocks for this quakeNo aftershocks have been recorded so far. When aftershocks are detected, we will update this section.What are aftershocks?Larger earthquakes (above magnitude 5 or so) such as this one are usually followed by smaller ones known as aftershocks that occur in the same area during the days, weeks, months or even years after the main shock.[More info]What about this quake?Based on its magnitude, the fault that was active during the quake likely ruptured beneath a surface area of approximately 2 km2 (1 square miles) as a first-order estimate. The length of the rupture zone thus was probably around 2 km (1 mi).[More info]Recorded aftershocks, latest first (0 quake)Mar 4, 2026 06:05 am (Universal Time)2 minutes ago4.25 km0 km - This quake13 km NW of Catania, Catania, Sicily, ItalyMain Shock (this quake)MoreMap of aftershocksEarthquake statisticsAverage number of earthquakesBased on data from the past 56 years and our earthquake archive back to 1900, there are about 2,100 quakes on average per year in the area near the epicenter of this quake (within 100 km/61 mi):Mag. 7 or higher: 0.02 quakes per year (or 1 quake every 41.7 years)Mag. 6 or higher: 0.03 quakes per year (or 1 quake every 31.3 years)Mag. 5 or higher: 0.1 quakes per year (or 1 quake every 9.7 years)Mag. 4 or higher: 2.7 quakes per yearMag. 3 or higher: 30.9 quakes per year (or 2.6 quakes per month)Mag. 2 or higher: 435 quakes per year (or 36.2 quakes per month)Mag. 1 or higher: 1,800 quakes per year (or 5 quakes per day)The area where this quake occurred has a high level of seismic activity. It has had at least 3 quakes above magnitude 7 since 1900, which suggests that larger earthquakes of this size occur infrequently, probably on average approximately every 40 to 45 years.Number of quakes per yearPrevious quakes in the same area of this earthquake