LAGOS AUGUST 1ST (NEWSRNAGERS)-Dozens of people have been injured after an earthquake hit Naples. The 4.7-magnitude quake – believed to be the most powerful to hit the region in 40 years – struck Campania overnight in the night and was followed by dozens of aftershocks.
Around 21 people were injured, two of them seriously, and 18 households were evacuated near the Phlegraean Fields, a large volcanic area west of Naples, Italian media reported.
Damage was reported across the region, with cars crushed after boulders fell off cliffs. One image showed an enormous rock that had flattened a vehicle.
In the coastal city of Pozzuoli, in the Naples region, two uninhabited buildings collapsed along with the facade of another block, while cornices and plaster detached from other buildings.
Video footage captured rubble scattered across streets and in canals, as well as dust coating homes and paths.
Nello Musumeci, the Italian civil protection minister, said homes and churches had recorded damage. He added that power outages had caused disruption to rail services.
Many residents in the worst-hit areas left their homes and said they planned to spend the night outdoors amid fears of structural damage to the buildings, Italian newspaper La Stampa reported.
The nearby port of Pozzuoli was closed because rockfall had left deep cracks in the docks and rendered the quay temporarily unusable, the Pozzuoli Maritime Directorate said. Rail and ferry services were temporarily suspended.
Italy’s National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology said it had recorded dozens of aftershocks following the quake.
It said Friday’s tremor was the strongest since seismic activity intensified in Campi Flegrei, a volcanic area 30 miles west of Naples that has been experiencing increased natural unrest in recent years.
The institute added that the tremors had been felt as far as Naples.
Giorgia Meloni, the Italian prime minister, was following developments and a crisis unit convened by Fabio Ciciliano, the department head, held a meeting to coordinate a response.
In June 2025, a 4.6-magnitude earthquake hit the same area.
Earthquakes are relatively common in Italy, but rarely deadly.
In 2016, the country was hit with a series of powerful earthquakes that destroyed parts of Lazio, Umbria and the Marche regions and killed around 300 people.
Telegraph
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