The largest earthquake to strike the region in the past 40 years, with a magnitude of 4.4, has shaken Naples.

According to local media, there was a “huge roar” before the earthquakes, which caused residents to rush into the streets at around 1.25 am.

The entire city and a sizable portion of the surrounding area were awakened by the strong earthquake, which lasted for roughly 20 seconds.

The National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV) said that the epicentre was located 2.5 kilometers below the municipality of Pozzuoli, a city on the coast near Naples.

As terrified citizens crouched in the streets, it set off a seismic swarm that caused the city to be shaken for two more hours by a succession of weaker shocks.

After her home’s ceiling collapsed, firefighters in Pozzuoli rescued an injured woman from the debris.

According to news agency ANSA, rescuers in Bagnoli worked to release those who were stuck in their houses, with some locals scaling windows to escape.

Together with a 4.4-magnitude earthquake that was registered in May of last year, the earthquake was the joint strongest to strike the region in the previous forty years.

Similar to the earthquake that occurred last night, the epicenter was located in the Phlegraean Fields region, beneath which lies the largest active volcano caldera in Europe—the hole created by an eruption.

Social media users shared images and videos this morning that depicted automobiles covered in stones and rubble, houses with cracks, and terrified citizens rushing into the streets in the middle of the night.

The fire department reported that it was conducting inspections in the Bacoli, Bagnoli, and Pozzuoli neighborhoods.

Authorities in Bagnoli, a coastal neighborhood in western Naples, ordered schools to close. They said waiting shelters had also been established for locals who were scared to return home.

Giorgia Meloni, the prime minister, stated that she was in communication with the appropriate authorities and was continuously keeping an eye on the situation.

The Campi Flegrei (Phlegraean Fields) region, which is situated in the shadow of the active Mount Vesuvius, has a long history of seismic activity.

But the quake last year had already frightened many of the 500,000 residents in the danger zone.

There were no serious injuries or significant structural issues at the time.

The strongest eruption in the Mediterranean occurred 40,000 years ago at Campi Flegrei.

Pozzuoli became a ghost town in the early 1980s after a widespread evacuation brought on by a return of seismic activity.

However, experts say it is still improbable that there will be a full-scale eruption very soon.