Authorities in Italy are evacuating scores of persons around the Naples region on Tuesday after a wave of tremors of a strength not seen for decades caused panic but no injuries.
The National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV) reported a magnitude 4.4 quake shortly after 8 pm on Monday at a depth of 2.5 kilometres.
INGV referred to it as a “seismic swarm” in which some 150 quakes were recorded at about the same time.
The institute’s Mauro Di Vito said: “This is the most powerful seismic swarm in the last 40 years.”
The tremor caused several residents of Pozzuoli, a city near Naples to rush out of their apartments into the street. The tremor damaged some buildings but there were no casualties.
On Tuesday morning, Italy’s Civil Protection Department said 39 families had been evacuated from 13 buildings following quick inspections.
While acknowledging the extent of the damage, the mayor of Pozzuoli, Gigi Manzoni, urged residents to remain calm.
Manzoni added that four temporary shelters have been set up for people who did not feel safe in their homes in Campi Flegrei and its environs. Authorities in Naples are preparing to send 400 temporary beds to the area.
Residents are used to the tremors but many of the 500,000 inhabitants living in the danger zone were already frightened by a 4.2-magnitude quake last September.
The last major eruption of the supervolcano was in 1538. Emergency services reported cracks and pieces falling from buildings after Monday’s earthquake.