The earth shook in the middle of the night. An earthquake shook the southern Ionian Sea, waking up many citizens between Sicily and Calabria. Fortunately, no damage was done to people or things.
Catania and much of the Sicilian Ionian coast experienced a moment of fear in the night between April 15 and 16, when an earthquake made an incursion and then left everything silent again.
An earthquake of magnitude 4.8 struck the southern Ionian Sea last night, with its epicentre located about 50 km from the Calabrian coast, at a depth of 48 kilometres. The earthquake, recorded at 3:26, was felt in several areas of Southern Italy, particularly in Reggio Calabria, Messina, Gioia Tauro, Catania and Syracuse. According to the findings, the earthquake reached a maximum intensity of the Mercalli scale (MCS) IV. Despite the strength of the shock, no significant damage or injuries have been reported at the moment. No tsunami alert has been issued: the magnitude did not exceed the minimum threshold of 5.5 necessary to activate the Tsunami Warning Center. According to data available on the website of the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology, the earthquake is the only one to have occurred in that area in the last three days.
Immediately after the earthquake, people began to write on social networks. In one case, an institutional message like that of the mayor of Aci Sant’Antonio Quintino Rocca announced an ordinance for the closure of schools in the town.
“Report any damage to people or things to us,” writes Rocca. Also, use these social channels, even better the official profile of the institution but also this personal one of mine if necessary. There is already a team around monitoring the situation. For now, there is no alarming news.”
“In any case, a specific ordinance for the closure of schools is being prepared. I understand the inconvenience for parents of suddenly closing, but we are calmly checking all the structures to be safe. It was not a minor shock. We will update you.”