A 4.4-magnitude earthquake in the Campi Flegrei volcanic caldera shook the Naples area overnight, sending frightened residents into the streets. The quake caused some damage and injured one person.
The tremor struck at 1:25 am on Thursday, making it the strongest in the area for 40 years, alongside another of the same magnitude in May last year.
Firefighters in Bagnoli rescued a person from rubble after a ceiling collapsed. The individual was not seriously hurt. Some residents had to climb out of windows to escape their homes due to structural damage.
Falling debris damaged cars, and cracks appeared in several buildings.
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is monitoring the situation in close contact with Cabinet Secretary Alfredo Mantovano, Civil Protection Minister Nello Musumeci, and Civil Protection Chief Fabio Ciciliano, her office said on Thursday.
The Campi Flegrei area, also known as the Phlegraean Fields, is experiencing bradyseism, or ground uplift, leading to a series of earthquakes over the past year.
“Recently, the ground’s rising rate has tripled from one to three centimetres per month,” said Francesca Bianco, director of the volcanoes department at the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology.
“What happened last night is not unexpected. The bradyseismic crisis has intensified compared to 2023, but there is no sign of shallow magma, which would indicate an imminent eruption,” she told ANSA.
Structural integrity key to citizen safety
Civil Protection Minister Nello Musumeci has appointed a special commissioner for Campi Flegrei to oversee risk prevention measures. He criticised how urban development had been allowed in the volcanic zone over decades.
Naples Mayor Gaetano Manfredi described the quake as “an important stress test for the city’s building heritage. The lack of structural damage shows good seismic resilience,” he said after a meeting at the prefect’s office.
“Now we must continue assessing vulnerabilities. The only way to live with bradyseism is to ensure safe structures, and we must focus on that.”
