February 20, 1980 Earthquake: Calabria,cosenza, Italy
A magnitude 4.6 earthquake struck Calabria,cosenza, Italy on February 20, 1980 at 02:34:02 UTC, 12 km below the surface. It killed 2 people.
Map
Where it struck, with the other significant earthquakes within 200 km. Circles are sized and colored by magnitude; select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Date
- February 20, 1980
- Time
- 02:34:02 UTC
- Place
- Calabria,cosenza, Italy
- Magnitude
- 4.6 (mb)
- Focal depth
- 12 km (7 mi)
- Intensity
- 9 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 39.303° N, 16.209° E
- Country
- Italy
The toll
- Deaths
- 2
- Damage
- $107 million
- Houses damaged
- 1,200
Where the literature gives no number, NCEI records a description on a scale of 1 to 4, printed here in its words. Damage is in millions of US dollars of the year of the event, not adjusted for inflation.
What the record says
NCEI’s account, from the sources it cites.
Note: 6 minutes after a magnitude 4.4 mb occurred 39.319°N 16.187°E
2 indirect deaths from heart attacks. According to an article in the Gazzetta del Sud on February 27, an initial damage assessment estimated the damage at 100 billion lira. In Rende alone, 1,200 homes were damaged, 150 families were left homeless, and six churches were uninhabitable, with some of their unsafe bell towers to be demolished. In Cosenza, more than a thousand buildings were damaged. Collapses, damage, and damage were reported in buildings in Castiglione Cosentino , Rose , Montalto Uffugo , Celico , Pedace , Torano Castello , Mendicino , and Bisignano. (reference #14330)
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- December 28, 1908, Messina, Sicily, Calabria, Italy
- February 5, 1783, Tyrrhenian Calabria, Italy
- December 5, 1456, Avellino,napoli,abruzzi, Brindisi,benevento, Italy
- September 16, 1857, Calabria,montemurro, Italy
- December 16, 1857, Campania, Potenza, Italy
- March 27, 1638, Cosenza,martirano, Nicastro, Calabria, Italy
- November 23, 1980, Avellino, Potenza, Caserta, Naples, Italy
- September 8, 1694, Calitri, Italy
- July 17, 1361, Basilicata to Pouilles, Italy
- November 5, 1659, Panaija, Soriano, Polia, Italy
- January 1688, Pisticci, Italy
- February 6, 1783, Messina Straits, Italy
- January 21, 1065, Catania,messina,milazzo,pale, Sicily, Italy
- August 14, 1851, Melfi, Rapolla, Barile, Rionero, MT Vulture, Italy
- July 31, 1561, Picerno, Tito, Buccino, Italy
More
Significant earthquakes of 1980The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1980Recent earthquakes near hereThis day in weather history
Sources
Significant earthquakes from NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information, Global Historical Hazard Database, cited as NCEI/WDS, doi:10.7289/V5PN93H7. Public domain. Read 2026-09-24. NCEI earthquake 10984.