A series of tremors struck the Campi Flegrei supervolcano in Italy on Monday evening (May 20), causing minor damage in the town of Pozzuoli, as well as in Naples, located about 20 kilometers away, according to the Italian National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV).
Cracks in walls and fallen awnings have been reported, confirmed a spokesperson for the Italian Fire Brigade to CNN. According to INGV data, a 4.4 magnitude earthquake occurred at a depth of 3 kilometers, marking the strongest quake to hit this seismically active area in the past 40 years. This event is part of an ongoing “seismic storm”, with more than a dozen events recorded at a magnitude above 2.0 in the last 48 hours.
Campi Flegrei crater in Pozzuoli, Italy. (Photo: La Repubblica).
The 4.4 magnitude earthquake at 8:10 PM local time followed a 3.5 magnitude quake that occurred an hour earlier. INGV recorded 1,252 earthquakes in the Campi Flegrei area in April 2024, most of which had a magnitude below 1.0.
The last major eruption of the Campi Flegrei supervolcano occurred in 1538, leading to the formation of a new bay on Italy’s southern coast. According to some volcanologists, INGV has observed an increase in seismic activity since 2022, possibly due to magma accumulating beneath the surface or gas build-up.
This volcano is located about 50 kilometers from Mount Vesuvius and is prone to a phenomenon known as slow earthquakes, in which the ground rises and falls due to subsurface pressure. The last major cycle occurred in 1984, but some volcanologists assert that this area is experiencing a new cycle of this phenomenon.
According to the Italian Civil Protection Agency, which is working this year to update evacuation plans in case of a major disaster, more than 500,000 people live in the red zone adjacent to the Campi Flegrei supervolcano.
