Translated automatically by AI from the Italian original.
PALERMO / AEOLIAN ISLANDS – Moments of fear and alarm across much of Sicily. At 12.19pm a third, far stronger earthquake measuring magnitude 5.5 shook the entire island and was distinctly felt from Palermo to Catania, along the Tyrrhenian coast and throughout the Aeolian archipelago.
According to data from the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV), the epicentre was in the southern Tyrrhenian Sea, in open water northwest of the island of Alicudi. Despite the strong intensity, initial checks by Civil Protection and the police reported no damage to people or property.
The earthquake swarm sequence in the Tyrrhenian Sea
The 12.19pm quake was the most powerful in a close sequence recorded by INGV seismographs off the Aeolian Islands:
- 11.51am: First quake, magnitude 4.3;
- 11.56am: Second aftershock, magnitude 3.6;
- 12.19pm: Main shock, magnitude 5.5;
- 12.24pm: Further aftershock, magnitude 4.0, in the same seismic district.
Spontaneous evacuations and people in the streets in Palermo
The 12.19pm earthquake, because of its considerable energy, caused widespread panic among residents of the Sicilian capital. In Palermo many people left homes, offices and shops, pouring spontaneously into the streets. Among the buildings evacuated as a precaution was the regional Family Department, where staff and visitors went outside when they felt the tremors.
The Fire Brigade and Civil Protection operational rooms continue to monitor the land and coast constantly for any repercussions.
