Naples and Campi Flegrei rocked by 4.6-magnitude quake

Local Italy

4 days ago

The quake hit at 12.47pm Italian time and had its epicentre in Bacoli, west of Naples, at a depth of five kilometres, according to Italy's National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV).
The 4.6-magnitude tremor was the most violent in the past 40 years in the Campi Flegrei area, according to Italian news agency ANSA.
The quake was followed by a "seismic swarm" – a long series of smaller tremors and aftershocks of magnitude of 2 or below, according to INGV.
There were no immediate reports of injuries following the quake, according to ANSA.
Italy's Civil Protection Agency said on social media platform X that initial checks conducted by officers on the ground didn't flag any damage to local infrastructure.
The quake was felt distinctly in Naples' city centre, where scores of people ran into the streets, according to local media reports.
A resident in Agnano, west of Naples, told La Repubblica that the quake was "terrible, strong and long".
"I had the feeling that the tremor came from right under my house,' they added.
Train services in and around Naples were temporarily suspended following the quake.
Italy's state-owned operator Trenitalia warned of possible cancellations and delays 'of up to 120 minutes' for high-speed, intercity and regional services.
Several schools in Naples, including the Righi Institute in the Fuorigrotta district, were evacuated, according to Italian media.
A video published on social media showed the moments after a large piece of rock forming part of a ridge on Punta Pennata, a tiny island just off Bacoli, broke off and plummeted into the sea below as a result of the shock.
"The community is obviously worried," said Bacoli Mayor Josi Gerardo Della Ragione.
"We issued orders banning people from going near the cliffs and today is Monday, but yesterday the coast was crowded with numerous boats that were sheltering in these extraordinary waters and people who were bathing there. We must secure the coast".
The Campi Flegrei area has experienced intense seismic activity in recent months.
It was rocked by a 4.4-magnitude quake on May 13th and by another tremor of the same magnitude on March 13th.
The region, which is home to around half a million people, is a volcanic caldera – a large, basin-like depression that forms when a volcano collapses into itself, usually following a major eruption.
The last volcanic eruption in the area occurred in 1538.
Seismic activity across the Campi Flegrei region has increased in intensity recent months due to a phenomenon known as 'bradyseism' – the slow, vertical movement of the Earth's surface due to changes in the volume of magma and hot gases lying underneath.
A marked increase in the frequency and intensity of seismic events has raised fears among residents of an imminent volcanic eruption, but Italian scientists have said that this is unlikely in the near future.
told reporters.
"We know that the bradyseismic crisis is ongoing and [...] the rocks accumulate stress that can lead, even after weeks of relative quiet, to earthquakes like the one just now."