Locals reported hearing a ‘huge roar’ before the tremors arrived, waking residents up during the early hours. It is the strongest earthquake to hit the city in 40 years
A horror 4.4-magnitude earthquake has blasted Naples, sending terrified tourtists running into the streets at 1am as homes around them collapsed.
It is the strongest earthquake to hit the city in 40 years. Locals reported hearing a “huge roar” moments before the tremors arrived and woke the Italian city and surrounding regions during the early hours of Thursday. Several people in and around the area resorted to spending the night on the streets after the quake sent rubble crashing to the ground and caused buildings to shake.
According to seismologists in Italy, the earthquake hit at 1:25am local time on Thursday, March 13, at a shallow depth of three kilometres (two miles). It was measured by the US Geological Survey a 4.2 magnitute tremor 10km deep.
The violent tremor lasted around 20 seconds, with the source of the earthquake believed to have been near Pozzuoli – a small district of Naples near the coast. A woman whose ceiling collapsed in the epicentre was rescued by firefighters, while in Bagnoli, rescue workers raced to free those trapped in their homes, where some desperate residents were seen climbing out of their windows, ANSA reports.
Power supply in parts of Naples was also disrupted amid the chaos. In Pozzuoli, one injured person was pulled from the rubble of a partially collapsed house. Images from the scene showed a terrified crowd of people surrounding what appeared to be a police car in the middle of the night as they feared more tremors were imminent. Other photos captured damaged homes with chunks missing from them, as well as cars covered in rubble with their windscreens smashed.
Naples is prone to earthquakes due to its location on a volcanic basin – the Phlegraean Fields. Thursday’s quake let off a violent shake that was felt in multiple parts of the Campania region, according to Italian media. It was followed by at least two weaker aftershocks.
The quake was the joint strongest in the last 40 years, with another 4.4-magnitude tremor blasting the same area in May last year.
A rescue co-ordination centre has been set up to assess the damage.