Coseismic deformation and source modeling of the May 2012 Emilia (Northern Italy) earthquakes

On 20 May 2012, an M_L 5.9 earthquake (Table 1) occurred near the town of Finale Emilia, in the central Po plain, Northern Italy (Fig. 1a). The mainshock caused seven casualties and the collapse of several historical buildings and industrial sheds. The earthquake sequence continued with diminishing aftershock magnitudes until 29 May, when an M_L 5.8 earthquake occurred near the town of Mirandola, ∼12  km west‐southwest of the mainshock (Scognamiglio et al., 2012). This second mainshock started a new aftershock sequence in this area, and increased structural damage and collapses, causing 19 more casualties and increasing to 15,000 the number of evacuees.