Translated automatically by AI from the Italian original.
PALERMO / AEOLIAN ISLANDS – The sequence of seismic events keeping all of Sicily on edge shows no sign of stopping. The seismographs of the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV) have recorded at least 13 tremors from 2.10am until early afternoon, with the epicentre in the southern Tyrrhenian basin, north-west of the Aeolian archipelago.
The most powerful event, recorded at 12.19pm with a magnitude of 5.5 and a hypocentre between 8 and 9 km deep, was followed shortly after (at 12.24pm) by an aftershock of magnitude 4.0. The tremor was clearly felt across almost the entire island: from Palermo to Trapani, extending to Enna, Catania, the Ionian coast of Messina and the province of Syracuse.
The sequence of the seismic swarm in the Tyrrhenian Sea
Seismic activity showed a progressive increase in intensity throughout the morning, as reported in INGV bulletins:
- 10.02am: seismic event of magnitude 3.9;
- 11.04am: new tremor of magnitude 3.3;
- 11.51am: marked tremor of magnitude 4.3;
- 11.56am: aftershock of magnitude 3.6;
- 12.19pm: main event of magnitude 5.5 (hypocentral depth between 8 and 9 km);
- 12.24pm: further tremor of magnitude 4.0.
INGV located all the earthquakes near the geographic coordinates 38.7938 lat. and 14.1717 long. The Institute stresses that no urban centre lies within 20 km of the epicentre, which is in open sea: the nearest inhabited landing points are on the islands of Alicudi and Filicudi.
Precautionary evacuations in schools and people in the streets from Palermo to Catania
The intensity of the vibrations caused moments of alarm among residents. In many towns along the Tyrrhenian coast, as well as in the urban centres of Palermo and Catania, many people went outside, filling streets and squares.
As a precaution, in several schools and regional administrative buildings, safety officers activated emergency procedures, ordering the immediate evacuation of buildings. The control rooms of Civil Protection and the Fire Brigade are maintaining constant monitoring of the area and confirm that, at present, there are no reports of injuries or significant structural damage.
