Small magnitude 3.8 earthquake 29 km northwest of Ascoli Piceno, Italy

A magnitude 3.8 earthquake near Ascoli Piceno, The Marches, Italy, was reported only 13 minutes ago by Italy's National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV), considered the main national agency that monitors seismic activity in Italy. The earthquake occurred at a shallow depth of 23.60 km beneath the epicenter early morning on Monday, January 5th, 2026, at 3:31 am local time. The exact magnitude, epicenter, and depth of the quake might be revised within the next few hours or minutes as seismologists review data and refine their calculations, or as other agencies issue their report.
A second report was later issued by the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC), which listed it as a magnitude 3.8 earthquake as well.
Based on the preliminary seismic data, the quake should not have caused any significant damage, but was probably felt by many people as light vibration in the area of the epicenter.
Weak shaking might have been felt in Servigliano (pop. 1,400) located 7 km from the epicenter.
Other towns or cities near the epicenter where the quake might have been felt as very weak shaking include Tolentino (pop. 16,500) located 18 km from the epicenter, Macerata (pop. 30,800) 24 km away, Fermo (pop. 18,100) 27 km away, Ascoli Piceno (pop. 41,700) 29 km away, Civitanova Marche (pop. 42,300) 36 km away, San Benedetto del Tronto (pop. 45,900) 40 km away, and Ancona (pop. 90,000) 59 km away. In Pescara (pop. 119,600, 95 km away), the quake was probably not felt.

Earthquake data:
Date & time: Jan 5, 2026 03:31 am (Rome time) local time (5 Jan 2026 02:31 GMT)
Magnitude: 3.8
Depth: 23.60 km
Epicenter latitude / longitude: 43.08°N / 13.41°E (Provincia di Macerata, The Marches, Italy)
Primary data source: INGV
https://www.volcanodiscovery.com/earthquake/news/291103/Small-magnitude-38-earthquake-29-km-northwest-of-Ascoli-Piceno-Italy.html