A magnitude 4.7 earthquake struck the Campi Flegrei area near the southern Italian city of Naples on Friday, causing power outages, suspending rail and metro services, and damaging several buildings, authorities said.
The earthquake occurred at 7:46 p.m. local time (17:46 GMT), with its epicenter located in the Campi Flegrei volcanic area west of Naples at a depth of approximately 3 kilometers, according to Italy’s National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV), as reported by Reuters.
Italy’s fire service said it had received reports of minor structural damage in and around Naples but added that there had been no immediate requests for rescue operations or assistance involving trapped residents.
As a precaution, local train and metro services were suspended, local authorities confirmed.
Italian media described the quake as one of the strongest ever recorded in the Campi Flegrei area, with residents in several neighborhoods rushing into the streets after feeling the tremors.
Campi Flegrei, a densely populated volcanic caldera that covers much of western Naples, has experienced increasingly frequent seismic activity in recent years, prompting the Italian government to intensify monitoring of the area.
Although minor earthquakes are common in the region, stronger tremors have raised concerns about a repeat of the early 1980s seismic crisis, which caused widespread disruption and forced thousands of residents to evacuate their homes.
Earthquakes are relatively common in Italy. In 2016, a series of powerful earthquakes devastated parts of the Lazio, Umbria, and Marche regions, killing around 300 people.
The deadliest earthquake in recent Italian history was the magnitude 6.9 Irpinia earthquake in November 1980, which claimed approximately 2,700 lives and destroyed hundreds of towns.
