A magnitude 4.7 earthquake struck southern Italy on Friday, wounding 21 people and causing serious damage around Naples. The tremor was the strongest ever recorded in the Phlegraean Fields, a volcanic caldera that forms part of the Campania region.
Two of the injured are in serious condition. Local services said several uninhabited buildings collapsed, facades were ripped off and power supplies failed. The epicenter was located in the Phlegraean Fields, a roughly 13-kilometer-wide depression in the summit of a supervolcano.
Pozzuoli, home to about 80,000 residents and located in the middle of the caldera, saw the worst effects. Italy’s civil defense minister, Nello Musumeci, confirmed that apartment blocks and churches had been damaged. In the most affected town, 200 overnight accommodation places were arranged for residents whose homes were damaged, with similar measures taken in surrounding villages.
Building inspections and transport problems
Checks on the state of buildings started after Friday’s shock across the whole area. Inspections also cover the coastline, and local media reported that access to some beaches and ports may be limited because of damage found there. Rail services around Naples were suspended.
Preparations for a possible escalation
Seismic activity in the Phlegraean Fields has become more intense in recent years. Plans for a mass evacuation are being prepared in case the emergency gets worse. Friday’s tremor set off panic in Naples and in many municipalities across Campania.
Experts from the Italian Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology said further earthquakes could not be ruled out. Over the night, the institute recorded more than a dozen further shocks, while civil protection teams carried out checks on damaged buildings.
Source: Polsat News, Photo: Polsat News
