PREFACE

Abstract

The M=6.0 earthquake that struck central Italy at 01:36 UTC (Universal Time Coordinated) on August 24, 2016, marked the beginning of a long, still-ongoing seismic sequence, which culminated in the Mw 6.5 event at 06:40 UTC on October 30, 2016, while this volume was already in preparation, and reactivated again when this preface was almost complete. This dramatic seismic sequence, which on January 18, 2017, released four additional events of M between 5.0 and 5.5 in a few hours, caused 298 casualties, hundreds of injuries, and the practically total destruction of several villages across a wide area of the central Apennines, covering the Italian Regions of Lazio, Umbria, Marche and Abruzzo. In particular, the historical village of Amatrice was completely destroyed. [...]