Seaquake shakes southern Italy

Catanzaro, October 26 - Southern Italy was rocked by a major seaquake on Thursday but the offshore location of the quake prevented any injuries or damage .

The quake, which measured 5.7 on the Richter scale, struck at around 16.30 local time in the waters between Calabria on the toe of Italy and the island of Sicily .

Experts said the epicentre was near the volcanic island of Stromboli to the north of Sicily at a depth of more than 200 metres .

While it was felt most strongly in Calabria and Sicily, with people running out onto the streets in fear, it also shook the regions of Puglia and Basilicata .

Civil protection officials said they were thankful the quake occurred at such a depth, stressing that it could have caused major damage if had been closer to the surface or nearer the shoreline .

The head of the national geophysics and volcanology institute, Enzo Boschi, said that "the depth of the epicentre reduced the destructive capacity" .

But he also stressed that the phenomenon was common in the area concerned .

"There is no cause for concern... There are certain zones where such deep earthquakes can occur and the area between Stromboli and Calabria is one of these," he said .

Boschi said that some 200 sea tremors had been recorded in the area over the past 20 years, 50 of which were similar to Thursday's .

But another expert, Professor Ignazio Guerra of the University of Calabria, said the quake had been unusually violent .

"We have recorded numerous earthquakes in those waters but this was particularly strong," he said .

The last major earthquake to hit Italy was in October 2002, when a quake measuring 5.4 on the Richter scale struck the southern half of the country .

The force of the quake toppled a school in the Molise village of San Giuliano in Puglia, killing 26 children and a teacher. Two other elderly women were killed in San Giuliano when their homes partially collapsed .

In November 1997, another major quake measuring 5.6 on the Richter scale rocked the central-northern regions of Umbria and the Marche causing 11 deaths .

One of Italy's biggest earthquake tragedies occurred in 1980, when almost 2,600 people died after a quake measuring 6.8 on the Richter scale hit the southern regions of Campania and Basilicata .