3.9 magnitude earthquake shakes Naples overnight

It was a night of apprehension for the inhabitants of the province of Naples, where the earth shook again.

Shortly after midnight on 17 February, an earthquake of magnitude 3.9 struck the Campi Flegrei area, preceded by two tremors of magnitude 3.0 and followed by five minor tremors until 5 am.

The new seismic swarm began three days ago and more than ten earthquakes of magnitude greater than 2 have been recorded.

Naples recorded its strongest quake in the region in over 40 years in May and also a minor one a couple of weeks ago.

The epicentre of Sunday night's strong tremor, the second of the day after the one in the afternoon, was 5 kilometres from Pozzuoli, a municipality in the metropolitan area of Naples. The hypocentre was 2 kilometres deep.

The quake was also felt in the Campania capital. Hundreds of citizens took to the streets out of fear.

The activation of civil protection volunteers and the opening of reception and waiting areas for citizens in the municipalities of Pozzuoli, Bacoli and Naples was ordered. On Monday, the mayor of Pozzuoli ordered the closure of schools to allow safety checks by municipal technicians.

The Phlegraean Fields are a volcanic area where earthquakes are often recorded due to a phenomenon called bradyseism, which is the movement of the ground due to very hot gases and fluids.

The area includes the municipalities of Bacoli, Monte di Procida, Pozzuoli and Quarto, as well as part of Naples itself.