ALBAWABA - Italian officials said that a 4.0 magnitude earthquake shook Italy's volcanic region of Campi Flegrei west of Naples Monday.
The civil protection agency said on X, formerly known as Twitter, that although it caused panic among residents who spilled out into the streets, the quake, which occurred shortly after 10 p.m., did not result in any injuries or damage among residents of the area.
According to the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV), the epicenter was located at a depth of around three kilometers between Naples and Pozzuoli.
The area around the Campi Flegrei (Phlegraean Fields) volcano, which last erupted in 1538 and would put 500,000 people in danger if it erupted again, has seen a rise in seismic activity in recent days, with a series of earthquakes.
A 4.2-magnitude earthquake struck the area on Wednesday, the largest in 40 years. The earthquake caused worry among Real Madrid fans as the team preps for a match in the city.
A top volcanologist has warned that major evacuations may be required in a town near Naples that rests on a so-called Super Volcano that has recently been struck by hundreds of minor earthquakes.
Campi Flegrei is located across the bay of Naples from Pompeii, which was destroyed by Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. It is, however, a considerably larger volcano than Vesuvius, and if it erupted at full force, it could kill millions.
Experts say there is no imminent threat of an eruption, but Giuseppe De Natale, former director of the Vesuvius Observatory at the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV), has called for urgent building inspections following repeated seismic activity that is pushing the ground up by 1.5 cm (0.59 inches) per month.
