Naples region shaken by magnitude‑3.6 quake near Pozzuoli, no injuries reported

At 04:17 am on Thursday a magnitude‑3.6 earthquake struck near Pozzuoli, a port town south of Naples, at a depth of about three kilometres. The tremor was felt strongly in the Phlegraean Fields and several neighbourhoods of Naples, especially on higher floors of buildings. Residents reported rattling walls and furniture, but no injuries or major structural damage were reported.

Local authorities quickly initiated safety checks on public buildings and residences, and ordered additional inspections of slopes and rock formations. Prefect Michele di Bari convened a crisis‑staff meeting that included the mayors of Pozzuoli, Bacoli and Monte di Procida, experts from the Vesuvio Observatory, civil‑protection officials and fire‑brigade representatives. The meeting found no immediate hazards but approved further monitoring. Scientists attributed the ongoing seismic activity to bradyseism, a gradual ground uplift caused by rising magmatic gases beneath the Phlegraean Fields, which can generate frequent small quakes.

The quake came just hours after a magnitude‑7.1 tremor struck Venezuela and follows a swarm of smaller quakes in the area, the strongest of which reached magnitude 3.0 a day earlier. Public transport continued to operate normally.