Magnitude 4.7 earthquake strikes Campi Flegrei near Naples, strongest in decades, causing injuries and power outages

A magnitude 4.7 earthquake struck the Campi Flegrei area near Naples at 19:46 local time on 31 July 2026, according to the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV). The epicenter was located about five kilometers from Pozzuoli at a depth of three kilometers. The tremor was the most powerful recorded in the area since a renewed phase of bradyseism began, described by one expert as the strongest in 40 years.

Immediate impact and damage

The quake was distinctly felt across Naples, its province, and on the islands of Procida and Ischia. On Procida, residents from Marina Grande, via Libertà, and Terra Murata reported the tremor, which was accompanied by a brief power blackout on the island. Mayor Luigi Muro activated the Municipal Operations Center (COC) of the Civil Protection, and after initial checks, the administration reported no harm to people or property, though fear remained high. On Ischia, reports came from Ischia Porto, Barano, and Casamicciola, with the quake strongly felt but no immediate damages or critical issues found.

The Italian Civil Protection department said that the quake had led to "collapses of uninhabited buildings, electricity supply cuts, damage to the Pozzuoli pier and landslides in the territory, on which checks will be carried out in the coming hours."

A high-voltage pylon managed by Terna collapsed as a result of the quake. Through coordination with E-Distribuzione technicians, who manage the underlying medium-voltage network, other functioning parts of the grid were used to restore power to customers.

Injuries and emergency response

At least ten people sustained mild injuries, according to the Civil Protection department. Earlier reports from other sources cited four and eight injured, respectively. All injuries were classified as minor (code yellow), and none were considered serious. The regional Civil Protection system immediately activated, and the president of the Campania Region, Roberto Fico, along with the regional civil protection councillor Fiorella Zabatta, began constant monitoring in coordination with the Prefecture, which convened the Rescue Coordination Center (CCS). Authorities were working to identify solutions for sheltering those unable to immediately return to their homes, and a psychological assistance service for emergencies was activated.

Transport disruptions

Railway circulation was suspended across the Naples node, including the high-speed, Intercity, and regional lines, to permit technical verifications on the state of the infrastructure. Technicians from Rete Ferroviaria Italiana were put to work according to the procedures prescribed for such cases. Services were to resume once the checks were completed and the full safety of the line was confirmed. Anas also activated its protocols and procedures following the event.

Scientific assessment

Lucia Pappalardo, director of the Vesuvius Observatory of INGV, said that further significant tremors could not be ruled out. "We cannot exclude that there will be other important shocks in Naples, seismicity will continue in the coming hours," she stated, while adding that the volcano's conditions had not changed and that there was no evidence of magma movement in the shallowest zones, allowing experts to exclude eruptive events. Ground uplift continued at the rate of one centimeter per month.

We cannot exclude that there will be other important shocks in Naples, seismicity will continue in the coming hours. But the volcano's conditions have not changed. Events of this type we can expect. We have no evidence of magma movement in the shallowest zones, so we can exclude eruptive events. The ground uplift is still one centimeter per month.

Giuseppe De Natale, volcanologist and research director at INGV, speaking in a personal capacity, called the quake the strongest ever recorded in the Campi Flegrei and framed it as confirmation that the volcanic process underway since 1950 was in continuous growth. He noted the singular contrast with the 1970 and 1984 crises, when governments enacted evacuation measures, whereas today "little or nothing is done to protect the population, which has been living for over three years with the nightmare of ever stronger earthquakes."

This is the strongest ever recorded in the Campi Flegrei. There is nothing new, but it is the banal confirmation that the volcanic process underway in the Campi Flegrei, begun in 1950, with only ground uplift because seismicity only began in 1970, is in continuous growth.

De Natale also criticized the ongoing hosting of major events in the highest-risk zones, which act as strong attractors for additional population, thereby increasing the risk, while road networks already compromised by bradyseism-related closures threaten to turn those areas into "real traps" in the event of panic during a quake.