An earthquake of magnitude 6.1 hit Northern Italy, on May 20th, 2012 at 02:03 UTC, in the region of Emilia Romagna. The event was preceded two hours before by a magnitude 4.0 on May 19th at 23:13 UTC, which is the starting point of a long sequence of seismicity. The shake caused 7 victims and lead to evacuation of several cities. This event was largely felt in Northern Italy. Important damages are reported in the cities of Finale Emilia, Ferrara and Modena, where significant cultural heritage buildings have been affected.

9 days later, on May 29th, 2012 at 07:00 UTC, a magnitude 5.8 occurred 15 km west from the May 20^th event. The mechanisms involved in both events are similar. The region, already affected by the previous event, is experiencing important damages and casualities. At least, 16 people were killed. More than 12,000 people moved to temporary shelters.

Information on the webpages EMSC or Equator.

Under the leadership of the INGV-group, 8 stations of the ERN-INGV-modul were installed within the first 24 hours. The first station was working real-time in the epicentral area after only a few hours. Additional stations from different italian institutions are later integrated in the emergency network.