Magnitude 4.7 quake disrupts power and rail services near Naples

A magnitude 4.7 earthquake struck the Campi Flegrei area near Naples on Friday evening, causing power outages, disrupting rail services and damaging some buildings.

Italy’s National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology recorded the earthquake at 7.46pm local time, or 5.46pm GMT, on July 31. Its epicentre was in Campi Flegrei, west of Naples, at a depth of about three kilometres.

The Italian fire service received reports of minor damage to buildings in Naples and surrounding areas but had no immediate requests to assist or rescue residents.

Local authorities suspended train and metro services as a precaution.

Italian media described the tremor as one of the strongest recorded in the area. Residents in several neighbourhoods rushed into the streets when the earthquake struck.

Campi Flegrei is a densely populated volcanic caldera covering much of western Naples. Seismic activity has become more frequent there in recent years, prompting the Italian government to increase monitoring.

Small earthquakes are common in the area, but stronger tremors have revived concerns about a repeat of the seismic crisis in the early 1980s, which caused widespread disruption and forced thousands of residents from their homes.

Earthquakes occur relatively frequently in Italy. A series of powerful tremors devastated parts of Lazio, Umbria and Marche in 2016, killing about 300 people.

Italy’s deadliest earthquake in recent decades struck the southern Irpinia area in November 1980. The magnitude 6.9 quake killed about 2,700 people and devastated hundreds of towns.