Many people in the Italian city of Naples and the surrounding area spent the night on the streets or in their cars after an earthquake shook buildings and caused damage.
Italian seismologists say the earthquake had a magnitude of 4,4 on the Richter scale and struck Naples at 01:25 a.m. local time on Thursday at a shallow depth of three kilometers.
Power supply has been cut off in parts of Naples.
In the nearby city of Pozzuoli, near the epicenter of the earthquake, one injured person was pulled from the rubble of a partially collapsed house.
Naples lies on the Phlegraean Fields, a volcanic basin that makes the area in southern Italy prone to earthquakes.
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Thursday's earthquake was felt in several areas of the Campania region, Italian media reported.
The earthquake was followed by at least two weaker aftershocks.
People left their homes in fear and remained on the streets of Naples, fearing new tremors.
Later, photos emerged showing a damaged house and a car with a shattered windshield.
A rescue coordination center was immediately established.
Schools in Pozzuoli and two nearby neighborhoods were closed on Thursday so that checks could be carried out on the stability of the buildings, the Corriere della Sera newspaper reported.
The earthquake was the same intensity as last May - the strongest to hit the Campi Flegrei in 40 years - and occurred about a month after a 3,9-magnitude earthquake was recorded in the area.
The Campi Flegrei volcano last erupted in 1538, but earthquakes have been common in the area since 1950.
In the early 1980s, a wave of stronger seismic activity was recorded in this area.
Experts believe that the recent surge in seismic activity is linked to the so-called bradiseizmom, a phenomenon that involves the gradual raising or lowering of part of the Earth's surface, caused by the filling or emptying of underground magma chambers or hydrothermal activity.
In the Campi Felgrei area, there are 15 towns where more than half a million people live in the so-called "red zone" which is the most vulnerable.
Last year, the Italian government announced new measures in response to increased seismic activity in the area, updating plans for a possible mass evacuation.
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