A magnitude 4.4 earthquake struck near Naples, Italy, early Thursday, resulting in structural damage and prompting residents to flee into the streets.
The quake hit at 1:25 a.m. (0025 GMT), with its epicenter located near Pozzuoli, a coastal town to the west of Naples, as reported by Italy’s National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV).
This tremor, matching the strength of one that occurred last May, is noted as the most powerful since the early 1980s, a period marked by a series of seismic activities that caused significant damage and alarm in the region.
While minor earthquakes are common in this densely populated area near the Campi Flegrei supervolcano, residents indicated that this event was among the most intense in recent memory.
“I was asleep when I suddenly heard a loud bang; I had never experienced anything so deafening,” recounted Raffaele Cipollano. “It was a terrifying moment. When I got up and turned on the lights, I discovered my house was filled with cracks—there were cracks everywhere.”
Emergency responders managed to rescue one individual from the debris of a partially collapsed building, according to officials. The region also experienced several minor aftershocks, heightening anxiety among the local population.
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In a bid for safety, some individuals broke through a gate at a former NATO base in Bagnoli to find shelter.
Reports of power outages surfaced in various parts of Naples, leading many families to opt for sleeping outdoors or in their cars overnight due to fears of additional quakes.
Earthquakes are relatively common in Italy.
In the Naples region, the most significant recent earthquake was a magnitude 6.9 event that struck the Irpinia area in November 1980, resulting in approximately 2,734 fatalities, over 8,800 injuries, and the destruction of more than 300 municipalities.
