The Italian town of Naples was jolted by a 4.4 magnitude earthquake on early Thursday morning. The earthquake, which was the strongest to hit the region in 40 years, prompted residents to swarm the streets.
Residents described a "loud roar" coming from the ground during the earthquake. As per reports, the jolt was followed by two aftershocks and power supply in parts of Naples was also disrupted.
The Italian town of Naples was jolted by a 4.4 magnitude earthquake on early Thursday morning. The earthquake, which was the strongest to hit the region in 40 years, prompted residents to swarm the streets.
Italian seismologists said the earthquake struck at 01:25 local time on Thursday (00:25 GMT) at a shallow depth of three kilometres (two miles). While Italy noted it was 4.4 on the Richter Scale, the US Geological Survey measured it as a 4.2 tremor, 10km deep.
Residents described a "loud roar" coming from the ground during the earthquake. As per reports, the jolt was followed by two aftershocks and power supply in parts of Naples was also disrupted.
As per a BBC report, many residents of the city opted to spend the night in their cars and on the streets as the earthquake shook buildings and caused rubble to fall down.
In the nearby town of Pozzuoli, an injured person was pulled from the rubble of a partially collapsed house.
In view of the massive jolt, schools in parts of Naples have been closed down for Thursday as authorities carry out stability checks. A rescue coordination centre has also been set up to assess the damage caused by the earthquake.
As per reports, Thursday's earthquake was the strongest recorded in the past 40 years. A similar magnitude earthquake has struck the same area in May last year. However, with this earthquake, the epicentre was recorded in the Phlegraean Fields area, which has a huge volcanic caldera beneath.