Rome – The city of southern Italy in Naples was beaten by an earthquake of 4.4 early magnitude on Thursday that caused only minor damage and sent 11 people to the hospital, the most serious suffering bruises after part of a roof collapsed, the authorities said.
The earthquake was the strongest in history recorded around the Flegraduate fieldsAn extensive area of old volcanoes that covers a wide strip of the Naples metropolitan area. It coincided with the magnitude of another earthquake in the same area last May that has put the population on alert.
The residents shook awake by the morning earthquake sought street security, as they did in May.
The tremor, which loosen the stone and cement of some facades, focused right on the high seas of Pozzuoli, a coastal suburb that borders Naples. The Mayor Gaetano Manfredi told journalists that a church, a seven -story residential building and another building were declared out of the limits due to damage, and some schools were closed as caution.
The inspectors were reviewing the buildings to obtain more damage, said Manfredi. “We are following all our structures with more attention, and we are monitoring all events in real time,” said the mayor.
In total, 11 people sought hospital treatment. A woman was injured after a part of a roof fell, and several others suffered glass cuts that broke into the earthquake, said Manfredi.
Seismologists have reported a new increase in activity around Phlegran fields in recent weeks. The authorities last summer carried out exercises in preparation for an important emergency as the frequency of tremors increased.
The area around the Phlegran fields, which covers the Western neighborhoods of Naples and their suburbs, is seismic and volcanically active. The surface has been uploaded 1.3 meters (4.3 feet) since 2006, which is higher than before the last important event in 1984, but seismologists have emphasized that it is impossible to predict when an eruption or a stronger earthquake could occur.
At least 500,000 people live in the area more at risk if the volcano exploded. The National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology of Italy has requested a government plan to ensure that structures can resist an earthquake from at least one 5.0 magnitude.
During the 1984 event, 40,000 residents were evacuated during an intense seismic activity as caution against a feared eruption that did not happen.
