January 18, 2017 Earthquake: Farindola, Italy

Five people killed in the Campotosto-Crognaleto-Teramo area. This series of earthquakes, in combination with a winter storm, appeared to have triggered an avalanche near Farindola that destroyed a hotel killing 29 and injuring 11.

Appignano, Marken, Italy - CDI: 6; Nocciano, Abruzzen, Italy - CDI: 6; Chieti, Abruzzen, Italy - CDI: 5; Borgo Maggiore, Borgo Maggiore, San Marino - CDI: 5; Civita Castellana, Lazio, Italy - CDI: 4

The January 18, 2017 M 5.7 and M 5.6 earthquakes southwest of Amatrice, Italy, occurred as the result of shallow normal faulting on a NW-SE oriented fault (or faults) in the Central Apennines. The Apennines is a mountain range that runs from the Gulf of Taranto in the south to the southern edge of the Po basin in northern Italy. Geologically, the Apennines is largely an accretionary wedge formed as a consequence of subduction. This region is tectonically and geologically complex, involving subduction of the Adria micro-plate beneath Eurasia and the Apennines from east to west, continental collision between the Eurasia and Nubia (Africa) plates building the Alpine mountain belt further to the north, and the opening of the Tyrrhenian basin to the west (the latter of which is in turn related to Adria subduction and eastward trench migration). The evolution of this system has caused the expression of all different tectonic styles acting at the same time in a broad region surrounding Italy and the central Mediterranean. The January 18, 2017 normal faulting earthquakes are intraplate events, an expression of the east-west extensional tectonics that now dominate along the Apennine belt.

The January 18, 2017 earthquakes (09:25 UTC M 5.3; 10:14 UTC M 5.7; 10:25 UTC M 5.6) continue a sequence of damaging earthquakes that include:

- The August 24, 2016, M 6.2 central Italy (Amatrice) earthquake, which caused approximately 300 fatalities, and severely damaged the town of Amatrice.

- The October 26, 2016, M 6.1 central Italy earthquake, which was itself preceded by several hours by a M 5.5 earthquake. The M 6.1 earthquake resulted in damage to numerous buildings, but no fatalities.

- The October 30, 2016, M 6.6 central Italy earthquake, the largest event in the sequence to date. This event caused 20 injuries and left many homeless, and caused extensive damage, including destroying the Basilica of Saint Benedict.

(all above ref #13456)

Rescue workers on skis reached a four-star spa hotel buried by an avalanche in earthquake-stricken central Italy Thursday, reporting no signs of life as they searched for around 30 people believed trapped inside. Three bodies were recovered as heavy vehicles struggled to get to the scene. Two people escaped the devastation at the Hotel Rigopiano, in the mountains of the Gran Sasso range, and called for help, but it took hours for responders to arrive to the remote zone. Days of heavy snowfall had knocked out electricity and phone lines in many central Italian towns and hamlets, compounded by four powerful earthquakes that struck the region on Wednesday. It wasn't immediately clear which if any of the quakes triggered the avalanche. But firefighters said the sheer violence of the snow slide uprooted trees in its wake and wiped out parts of the hotel, leaving only some structures standing and others down the mountainside... The hotel in the Abruzzo region is about 45 kilometers (30 miles) from the coastal city of Pescara, at an altitude of about 1,200 meters (3,940 feet). The area, which has been buried under snowfall for days, is located in the broad swath of central Italy between Rieti and Teramo that was jolted by Wednesday's quakes, one of which had a 5.7 magnitude. (ref #11749)

Final toll for Italy avalanche stands at 29 as recovery ends. (ref #11753)

18m USD total damage. 34 dead 11 injured (ref #12592)

29 deaths, 11 injured, 18m USD total damage (ref #1250)