Magnitude 4.3 earthquake strikes near Pisa, felt from Livorno to Florence; public buildings evacuated, no injuries reported

The tremor

At 10:15 on Tuesday 4 August, a magnitude 4.3 earthquake struck northern Tuscany. The National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV) located the epicentre 7 kilometres west of Pisa at a depth of 8 kilometres, with some sources placing it at San Piero a Grado on the city's outskirts and one early report describing it as offshore. The shallow depth made the tremor feel particularly intense. Shaking was reported from Livorno on the coast through Lucca and the Versilia area up to Massa Carrara, and as far inland as the province of Florence.

Evacuations and disruption

In Pisa, dozens of public-office workers left their buildings and gathered in the streets within minutes of the tremor. Precautionary evacuations were ordered at several key sites: the Palazzo Comunale, Palazzo Blu, the tribunal (where court hearings were interrupted), the city's hospital, and the university. Fire brigade switchboards were swamped with calls, and Governor Eugenio Giani reported hundreds of calls to the regional single emergency number 112. Many residents left their homes as a precaution. Train circulation through the Pisa rail hub was suspended so that technicians could inspect the track infrastructure for any quake-related damage.

Hundreds of calls to the regional single emergency number 112 following the strong tremor, with many people taking to the streets. At the moment there are no reports of injuries. Some evacuations are underway in the area for precautionary purposes.

Official response

Governor Giani took to social media shortly after the tremor to confirm that the regional emergency system was at work. His initial post stated that checks were in progress across the affected provinces. In a subsequent message he detailed the scale of the public reaction and confirmed the precautionary evacuations. The regional civil protection room remained in contact with local authorities throughout the morning. By late morning, after structural inspections of the evacuated buildings had been completed, citizens were allowed back inside and normal activity resumed. No injuries were reported at any stage.

A tremor felt by the population in northern Tuscany between the provinces of Lucca, Pisa and Massa Carrara. Checks are underway with the regional system.

Seismic context

The earthquake follows a smaller tremor recorded in the same area during the night between 30 and 31 July, when a magnitude 2.8 quake struck at 01:30 with its epicentre 3 kilometres from San Giuliano Terme and 4 kilometres from Pisa. That event was also felt by residents but caused no damage. The 4 August event was more energetic and was detected across a far wider radius. The AGI news agency also noted that the tremor came just days after a strong quake hit the Campi Flegrei area near Naples the previous Friday, an event that had reactivated monitoring procedures across Campania.