First a roar, then a long tremor. At 1:25 this morning the earth shook in Campi Flegrei, due to an earthquake of magnitude 4.4 that, in some areas, was felt as much stronger. The epicenter was located two kilometers deep, in the sea, a few meters from the shore of Via Napoli, in Pozzuoli. But for some reason it was felt more threateningly - and caused more damage - in Naples, in the Bagnoli neighborhood, where debris fell from houses (but also from the church of Sant'Anna, whose bell tower stability will now have to be assessed), ending up on the street or on parked cars.
In Campi Flegrei everyone woke up with a start and ran out into the streets, terrified. Also in Bagnoli, a woman suffered some abrasions from the collapse of a false ceiling and was rescued by the firefighters . Little damage, but a lot of fear.
At the former NATO base in Bagnoli, one of the areas that should welcome people in case of emergency, there were moments of tension between some of the many citizens intending to spend the rest of the night there and the police forces. The origin of the protests was the closing of the gates, which were eventually forced open by people looking for a place to spend the night in their cars. The police tried to contain the protest with diplomacy and some arguments arose, which however did not result in physical contact . The situation then returned to normal after the gates were opened by force.
Tonight's earthquake had the same magnitude 4.4 as the one on May 20 last year, which was the strongest recorded in the Phlegraean area in the last 40 years . But this time the earthquake was characterized by "serious accelerations, never recorded before, confirming its violence," says the mayor of Pozzuoli, Luigi Manzoni, who reports what he learned from the Vesuvius Observatory, which constantly monitors the large underground volcano.
The main shock was followed by six others, the strongest of which, of magnitude 1.6, was recorded at 1.40 am . The last, at 3.26 am, was of magnitude 1.1.
(Online Union)