6.1-magnitude earthquake strikes off Italy
Rome, June 2
A 6.1-magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Italy's southern Calabria region early Tuesday, Italy's National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology reported.
The quake occurred at 00:12 a.m. local time Tuesday (2212 GMT on Monday), with its epicenter located at a depth of about 250 kilometers, the institute said.
The epicenter was located in the sea off the coast of the southern Calabria region.
Tremors were felt in several southern Italian regions, including Calabria, Sicily, Campania and Puglia, Xinhua news agency reported quoting local media.
No casualties or major damage have been reported so far. Local authorities are monitoring the situation.
Earlier in March, a strong, incredibly deep 375-to-381 km depth earthquake struck directly off the coast of Naples. This was noted by geophysicists as the strongest deep-earth fracture in that specific sector in a decade, sending pressure waves upward through the area's volcanic plumbing systems.
Earlier this year, in January, a magnitude 5.1 earthquake in the Ionian Sea, just off the southern tip of Italy, shook large parts of Malta.
The tremor was first recorded at 5.53am by Italy's National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology in Rome. Just one second later, it was also detected by seismic instruments operated by the University of Malta's Seismic Monitoring and Research Group, which measured it as a magnitude 5 event.
According to the Euro-Mediterranean Seismological Centre, the earthquake struck at a depth of 58 kilometres and was located about 62 kilometres off the coast of Reggio Calabria in southern Italy.
Data from Italian monitoring centres indicates that this was the strongest in a recent sequence of tremors recorded in the seas off Sicily over the past week.
Italy is Europe's most earthquake-prone country because it sits directly on the highly complex collision boundary between the Eurasian and African tectonic plates.
— IANS
Reader Comments
Deep earthquakes always give me chills. The fact that it was felt across four different regions - Calabria, Sicily, Campania, and Puglia - shows how powerful it was. Good thing it was deep, or the damage could have been catastrophic. Italy has such rich history, hope those ancient structures remain safe.
Earthquakes don't care about borders - see how Malta felt the January tremor too. We in India should invest more in early warning systems like Italy has. Our Himalayan region is just as active, and we saw what happened in Nepal and Gujarat. Better prepared, better safe. 🇮🇳
Imagine living in an area where even the deepest tremors like the Naples one in March (375km deep!) still make you feel the ground shake. It's scary but also fascinating how scientists can pinpoint epicenters and depths with such precision now. Technology really is our shield against nature's fury.
No casualties or major damage reported here, but we can't get complacent. Italy's seismic monitoring is world-class - 00:12 AM local time, they had data out immediately. Meanwhile in India, we still struggle with basic disaster response in many states. Need to up our game. 😕
Interesting how they mention the March Naples quake - that one at 375-381km depth was incredibly unusual. Usually deep quakes are less dangerous but they can disturb volcanic systems. Italy has Vesuvius and Etna to worry about. The Earth beneath us is more alive than we think.
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