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Local Italy
2 days ago
- Climate
- Local Italy
Naples and Campi Flegrei rocked by 4.6-magnitude quake
The quake hit at 12.47pm Italian time and had its epicentre in Bacoli, west of Naples, at a depth of five kilometres, according to Italy's National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV). The 4.6-magnitude tremor was the most violent in the past 40 years in the Campi Flegrei area, according to Italian news agency ANSA. The quake was followed by a "seismic swarm" – a long series of smaller tremors and aftershocks of magnitude of 2 or below, according to INGV. There were no immediate reports of injuries following the quake, according to ANSA. Italy's Civil Protection Agency said on social media platform X that initial checks conducted by officers on the ground didn't flag any damage to local infrastructure. The quake was felt distinctly in Naples' city centre, where scores of people ran into the streets, according to local media reports. A resident in Agnano, west of Naples, told La Repubblica that the quake was "terrible, strong and long". "I had the feeling that the tremor came from right under my house,' they added. Train services in and around Naples were temporarily suspended following the quake. Italy's state-owned operator Trenitalia warned of possible cancellations and delays 'of up to 120 minutes' for high-speed, intercity and regional services. Several schools in Naples, including the Righi Institute in the Fuorigrotta district, were evacuated, according to Italian media. A video published on social media showed the moments after a large piece of rock forming part of a ridge on Punta Pennata, a tiny island just off Bacoli, broke off and plummeted into the sea below as a result of the shock. "The community is obviously worried," said Bacoli Mayor Josi Gerardo Della Ragione. "We issued orders banning people from going near the cliffs and today is Monday, but yesterday the coast was crowded with numerous boats that were sheltering in these extraordinary waters and people who were bathing there. We must secure the coast". The Campi Flegrei area has experienced intense seismic activity in recent months. It was rocked by a 4.4-magnitude quake on May 13th and by another tremor of the same magnitude on March 13th. The region, which is home to around half a million people, is a volcanic caldera – a large, basin-like depression that forms when a volcano collapses into itself, usually following a major eruption. The last volcanic eruption in the area occurred in 1538. Seismic activity across the Campi Flegrei region has increased in intensity recent months due to a phenomenon known as 'bradyseism' – the slow, vertical movement of the Earth's surface due to changes in the volume of magma and hot gases lying underneath. A marked increase in the frequency and intensity of seismic events has raised fears among residents of an imminent volcanic eruption, but Italian scientists have said that this is unlikely in the near future. told reporters. "We know that the bradyseismic crisis is ongoing and [...] the rocks accumulate stress that can lead, even after weeks of relative quiet, to earthquakes like the one just now."
Al Etihad
2 days ago
- Climate
- Al Etihad
Earthquake in Italy near Naples, no injuries reported
30 June 2025 18:27 Naples (dpa) The southern Italian city of Naples and the surrounding area were shaken by an earthquake at midday on Italian Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV) said the tremor reached a magnitude of 4.6 - one of the strongest in the region in recent city's fire brigade said no injuries or major damage have been reported so Italian news agency ANSA reported that people in western Naples and surrounding communities ran into the streets out of fear of being trapped in collapsed buildings. The INGV said that the tremor was strongest in Bacoli, a municipality with 26,000 inhabitants about 20 kilometres west of the city of community is in the Phlegraean Fields, an area of high volcanic activity on Europe's largest active "supervolcano." The region - which also includes the island of Capri - is a popular tourist destination.
Wales Online
3 days ago
- Climate
- Wales Online
Travel disruption as earthquake hits central Italy
Travel disruption as earthquake hits central Italy It comes as the region is in the grip of a severe heatwave Damage caused by a 4.4 magnitude earthquake that struck Naples in March this year An earthquake said to be the strongest in the last 40 years hit central Italy on Monday afternoon. The 4.6 magnitude earthquake was reported at 12.47pm, centred in Bacoli in Naples. Mayor of nearby town Pozzuoli, Luigi Manzoni, said: "At the moment there are no reports of damage. The epicenter was in Bacoli but we are facing a situation to monitor hour after hour. Our volunteers are already out in town checking the situation closely." Several smaller earthquakes were reported shortly after the main event. Local media say trains, including the subway in Naples, were suspended. Mauro Antonio Di Vito, director of the Vesuvius Observatory of the INGV, said: "The event does not surprise us. Even after weeks of seismic silence, the rock can accumulate stress and then release energy. This is typical behaviour of the Phlegraean system. "We cannot predict earthquakes, but today there are no signs that indicate worst-case scenarios. It is essential to communicate correctly, without fueling panic or giving false reassurances." Article continues below Italy is currently in the grip of a severe heatwave. Lazio, Tuscany, Calabria, Puglia and Umbria were planning to ban some outdoor work activities during the hottest hours of the day in response to the record high temperatures. Italian trade unions pushed the government to expand such measures at a national level. On Sunday, the Italian health ministry placed 21 out of 27 monitored cities under its highest heat alert, including top holiday destinations like Rome, Milan and Naples. In Rome, tourists tried to seek shade near popular spots like the Colosseum and the Trevi Fountain, using umbrellas and drinking from public water fountains to stay cool. Similar scenes were reported in Milan and Naples, where street vendors sold lemonade to tourists and residents to offer some refreshment from the heat.
Yahoo
07-06-2025
- Yahoo
WATCH Mount Etna erupt: Europe's largest volcano blows as tourists scramble to safety
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Mount Etna erupted on Monday (June 2) with a ginormous cloud of ash and triggered an avalanche of volcanic material that has ripped down the side of Europe's largest active volcano. The massive eruption on the Italian island of Sicily sent visitors scrambling for safety as black smoke rose high above Catania, a metropolitan city with a population of more than 1 million people located near the base of the volcano. An avalanche of hot lava blocks, ash, gas and other volcanic material called a pyroclastic flow began at around 11:20 AM local time. Footage from the eruption makes it look as if the volcano is splitting open from the top down as the ejected material races down the side of the volcano. Scientists observing the volcano said that the latest eruptive activity likely started after a collapse of material in Mount Etna's South-East Crater, where the "explosive activity" has since become a lava fountain, according to an update at 12:00 PM local time from the Etnean Observatory, run by Italy's National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology. There were no reports of injuries at the time of publication, though some social media videos show tourists fleeing the volcano on foot. "I spoke to the INGV (Italy's National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology), everything is normal and under control," Enrico Tarantino, the mayor of Sicily's Catania municipality, said in a statement, via the Independent. "There is no criticality, it is a phenomenon that repeats itself and, in light of the monitoring of the volcano, was already expected." Related: Watch mesmerizing 1,000-foot-tall lava fountains: Kilauea volcano erupting in ways not seen for 40 years Mount Enta has been erupting since Nov. 27, 2022, according to the Smithsonian's Global Volcanism Program. At over 11,000 feet (3,350 meters) tall, Mount Etna is the tallest volcano in Europe. —The closer a volcano is to erupting, the greener the trees around it look from space —Quadruple volcanoes on secret Soviet military base linked to climate-altering eruption 200 years ago — Earth from space —Mystery of Bolivian 'zombie' volcano finally solved The ash cloud from the latest eruption had risen up to around 21,300 feet (6,500 m), or 4 miles (6.5 kilometers) into the sky, according to an update from the Toulouse Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre in France at 12:00 PM local time. That rise meant the ash cloud was almost twice as high as the volcano itself. The rest of the cloud is mostly composed of sulfur dioxide (SO2). This gas, when released from a volcano, can mix with other gases and particles in the atmosphere to form a haze called volcanic smog (vog). Inhaling enough vog can cause respiratory problems and other health issues such as eye and skin irritation, according to USGS. However, officials in Italy haven't warned of any threats to the local population at the time of publication. The eruption has stopped, according to an update at 4:56 PM local time from the Etnean Observatory.
Yahoo
07-06-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Hidden layer beneath Italy's Campi Flegrei caldera may explain why it's so restless
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. A weak layer of crust deep below the floor of Italy's Campi Flegrei causes the caldera to undergo periods of earth-trembling unrest, new research has found. According to the new study, published April 5 in the journal AGU Advances, this layer sits between 1.8 and 2.5 miles (3 to 4 kilometers) deep. It is made of a rock called tuff, which has been weakened by multiple magma intrusions over tens of thousands of years. This tuff, a light rock made of compressed volcanic ash, acts like a sponge for volcanic gases rising from the magma chamber that sits at least 7.5 miles (12 km) below the surface. When these gases begin to saturate the pores in the tuff, they cause the rock to deform and even break, creating earthquakes. This finding could explain the source of Campi Flegrei's regular restless periods, said study leader Lucia Pappalardo, senior researcher at the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology in Italy (INGV). "Other calderas in the world are characterized by this phenomenon," Pappalardo told Live Science, "[so] we think our model can be extended to other calderas worldwide." The research is part of a larger project with the aim of better forecasting eruptions at Campi Flegrei, which is also known as the Phlegraean Fields and sits west of Naples. Roughly 500,000 people live in an area that would be swamped by boiling pyroclastic flows of hot ash and gas in the event of a caldera eruption, according to Italy's Civil Protection Department. Campi Flegrei has been erupting for at least 47,000 years and last erupted in 1538. But it undergoes periods of significant unrest, one of which has been ongoing since 2005. During these restless periods, the region shakes with frequent, mostly small, earthquakes. One of these minor quakes caused a wall to collapse at the historic site of Pompeii on Thursday (June 5), according to news reports. Pappalardo and her team wanted to understand how the structure and strength of the rocks under the caldera contribute to the volcanic activity. They used rocks drilled decades ago from deep below the caldera's center , subjecting them to a bevy of scientific analysis. They characterized the minerals and elements in the samples and also subjected them to a process called "4D computed X-ray microtomography," which allowed them to observe the structure of the rock samples while they were being compressed until they cracked. This provided information about the rocks' strength and mechanics, study co-author and INGV researcher Gianmarco Buono told Live Science. RELATED STORIES —Italy's Campi Flegrei volcano may unleash devastating eruptions more often than we thought —Were Neanderthals really killed off by Campi Flegrei, Europe's awakening 'supervolcano'? —Supervolcano 'megabeds' discovered at the bottom of the sea As the researchers conducted these tests on samples from different layers of rocks, they discovered the weak tuff layer. "This was unexpected," Pappalardo said. Using computer modeling, the researchers discovered that this layer has likely trapped numerous magma intrusions, or dykes, over the millennia. These intrusions heated and deformed the rock, weakening it. The researchers are now working to understand the ways that material from the caldera's deep magma chamber can rise to the surface, causing an eruption. But despite the caldera's frequent shuddering, there is no indication that a major eruption is imminent, Pappalardo said. "At the moment, our monitoring system is not registering any parameters that can suggest magma movement," she said. "So the eruption cannot be in a short time."
