A magnitude 5.1 tremor off Italy’s southern tip shook many people in Malta out of bed on Saturday morning.
The tremor was first detected by seismic equipment operated by the Rome-based National Institute of Geophysics and Vulcanology at 5.53am.
It shook across the sea and across Malta, with residents from all over the country – from Marsascala to Mgarr, St Julian’s, Kirkop and Birkirkara – saying they were woken up by shaking.
Equipment operated by the University of Malta’s Seismic Monitoring and Research Group detected the tremor one second after the Rome-based institute as a magnitude 5 event.
According to the Euro-Mediterranean Seismological Centre, the Ionian Sea quake was registered at a depth of 58km, around 62km off the coast of Reggio Calabria.
Data provided by a Rome-based seismic monitoring centre indicates that the Saturday morning tremor is the strongest in a series of tremors registered in the areas off Sicily in the past week.
Magnitude 5 earthquakes are classified as moderate in strength, and can be perceived by almost everyone in the area. Magnitude 5 earthquakes are relatively common globally, with up 1,300 annual earthquakes of that magnitude registered worldwide every year.
The last such quake that drew public attention dates back to September, when a magnitude 5.2 tremor off Malta’s southern coast was felt by various Maltese residents.
Although Malta does not sit on a major fault line, the seabed surrounding the central Mediterranean lies close to the tectonic boundary between the African and Eurasian plates.