Naples struck by 4.4-magnitude quake causing minor damage and light injuries

The southern Italian city of Naples was struck by a 4.4-magnitude quake early Thursday that caused only minor damage and sent 11 people to the hospital, the most serious suffering contusions after part of a ceiling collapsed, officials said.

The quake was the strongest in recorded history around the Phlegrean Fields, a sprawling area of ancient volcanoes that covers a broad swath of the Naples metropolitan area. It matched the magnitude of another quake in the same area last May that has put the population on alert.

Residents shaken awake by the early-morning quake sought safety in the streets, as they did in May.

The temblor, which loosened stone and cement from some facades, was centered just offshore from Pozzuoli, a seaside suburb bordering Naples. Mayor Gaetano Manfredi told reporters that one church, a seven-story residential building and another building were declared off-limits due to damage, and some schools were closed as a precaution.

Inspectors were checking buildings for further damage, Manfredi said. "We are following with the greatest attention all of our structures, and are monitoring all events in real time,'' the mayor said.

In all, 11 people sought hospital treatment. One woman was injured after part of a ceiling fell, and several others suffered cuts from glass that broke in the quake, Manfredi said.

Seismologists have reported a fresh increase in activity around the Phlegrean Fields over recent weeks. Authorities last summer conducted drills in preparation for a major emergency as the frequency of temblors increased.

The area around the Phlegrean Fields, which encompasses western neighborhoods of Naples and its suburbs, is both seismically and volcanically active. The surface has been pushed up 1.3 meters (4.3 feet) since 2006, which is higher than prior to the last major event in 1984, but seismologists have emphasized it is impossible to predict when an eruption or stronger quake might occur.

At least 500,000 people live in the zone most at risk should the volcano erupt. Italy's national institute for geophysics and vulcanology has called for a governmental plan to ensure that structures can withstand a quake of at least a magnitude 5.0.

During the 1984 event, 40,000 residents were evacuated during a period of intense seismic activity as a precaution against a feared eruption that did not occur.