CalendarZ

  1. Home
  2. On This Day
  3. September
  4. 26
  5. 1997 Umbria and Marche earthquake

Events on September 26 in history

1997 Umbria and Marche earthquake
1997Sep, 26

An earthquake strikes the Italian regions of Umbria and the Marche, causing part of the Basilica of St. Francis at Assisi to collapse.

The 1997 Umbria and Marche earthquake occurred in the regions of Umbria and Marche, central Italy on the morning of September 26. It was preceded by a foreshock almost as strong as the main quake. The foreshock occurred at 02:33 CEST (00:33 UTC), rated Mw5.7, and the second – the main shock – occurred at 11:40 CEST (09:40 UTC), rated Mw 6.0. Their epicentre was in Annifo. The mainshock was assigned X (Extreme) and foreshock VIII (Severe) on the Mercalli intensity scale.There were several thousands of foreshocks and aftershocks from May 1997 to April 1998, more than thirty of which had a magnitude more than 3.5. Eleven people are known to have died following the shocks.

References

Choose Another Date

Events on 1997

  • 19Jan

    Hebron

    Yasser Arafat returns to Hebron after more than 30 years and joins celebrations over the handover of the last Israeli-controlled West Bank city.
  • 21Jan

    Newt Gingrich

    The U.S. House of Representatives votes 395-28 to reprimand Newt Gingrich for ethics violations, making him the first Speaker of the House to be so disciplined.
  • 5Feb

    The Holocaust

    The so-called Big Three banks in Switzerland announce the creation of a $71 million fund to aid Holocaust survivors and their families.
  • 2Jun

    Oklahoma City bombing

    In Denver, Timothy McVeigh is convicted on 15 counts of murder and conspiracy for his role in the 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, in which 168 people died. He was executed four years later.
  • 1Jul

    Tony Blair

    China resumes sovereignty over the city-state of Hong Kong, ending 156 years of British colonial rule. The handover ceremony is attended by British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Prince Charles of Wales, Chinese President Jiang Zemin, and U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright.