A powerful earthquake with a magnitude of 4.7 on the Richter scale shook the Naples region, becoming the strongest seismic event in this area in four decades.
The tremor, registered on the evening of July 31, injured at least four people (according to initial data from local media, the number of victims with minor injuries and panic attacks reaches 21 people).
The earthquake caused facade collapses, landslides and massive power outages in the Campania region.
Epicenter in the heart of supervolcano
According to official data from the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology of Italy (INGV), the earthquake occurred at 19:46 local time. The epicenter was located at an extremely shallow depth of about 3 kilometers below the surface in the area of the Campi Flegrei (Phlegrean Fields) - a densely populated volcanic caldera located immediately west of Naples.
Due to its shallow depth, the quake was felt extremely strongly in Naples and the nearby coastal city of Pozzuoli. Witnesses described the experience as an “subterranean rumble followed by a strong shaking“, which sent thousands of frightened residents out into the streets.
Damage, injuries and transport chaos
Italy's Civil Protection Minister, Nello Musumeci, confirmed the activation of the Crisis Headquarters to deal with the emergency. The main impacts in the affected region include:
Citizens injured: Most of the injured sought help in hospitals in Naples and Pozzuoli with injuries from falling objects, cuts from glass and acute panic attacks. Material damage: The Italian fire service reported cracks in residential buildings, fallen cornices and damage to historic churches. A slope collapsed in the Girolamini area, causing huge boulders to fall on parked cars. Power and train outages: Several neighborhoods in Naples were left without electricity. Rail transport in the entire Neapolitan hub, including the high-speed line and the local Cumana and Circumflegrea lines, was temporarily suspended to carry out urgent technical checks on the track and tunnels.
The phenomenon of bradyseism activates a “seismic storm“
The volcanologists from INGV explain that this strong earthquake is part of the increased seismic activity in Campi Flegrei that has been going on for months. The area is suffering from the so-called phenomenon bradyseism – slow rise and fall of the Earth's surface caused by the movement of underground volcanic gases and magma.
In recent years, the uplift of the soil has exceeded critical levels, which increases the pressure on the earth's crust and causes frequent earthquakes. The current earthquake, measuring 4.7 on the Richter scale, is the most serious since the great seismic crisis of 1982-1984 and has increased the fears of the local population that the supervolcano may awaken. At present, the area remains under a yellow danger code, and authorities are calling for calm.