Italy
Naples earthquake: houses and prison evacuated
A firefighter inspects damage to a building from a pallet truck. photo
© Napolipress/IPA via ZUMA Press/dpa
It has been decades since the earth in southern Italy shook so violently. People tried to flee the area. How bad is the damage?
After a strong series of earthquakes in the area around the southern Italian city Naples, several residential buildings and a prison have been evacuated. Several relatively violent tremors caused concern among residents on Monday evening. Damage to residential buildings had been reported to the fire brigade and civil defense forces. According to the authorities, the evacuations are initially precautionary measures. Some schools also remained closed.
Once again the Phlegraean Fields west of Naples were affected. According to the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology, the area was hit by a total of around 150 tremors. The strongest tremor, with a magnitude of 4.4, was recorded at around 8:10 p.m. According to the institute, it was the strongest earthquake in 40 years. Further earthquakes followed late into the night – around 9:45 p.m. with a magnitude of 3.9.
Many residents of the particularly hard-hit area between the towns of Pozzuoli and Bacoli spent the night on the streets, in their cars or in tents and converted sports halls provided by Civil Defense for fear of further tremors. Italian media reported that there were traffic jams overnight as people tried to flee the area. However, most people returned home early in the morning.
The Phlegraean Fields, an area of high volcanic activity in the Campania region of southern Italy, have long been plagued by earthquakes. Most of the time it is small and barely noticeable tremors that weaken the earth’s crust in the area. According to experts at the institute, the current series of earthquakes has weakened and slowed down, but it is not over yet. Further tremors cannot be ruled out.