"Earthquake swarm" hits Tuscany: Schools closed, public buildings evacuated

Several earthquakes shook Tuscany during the night.

Some schools and universities are closed.

Siena - Several earthquakes have shaken the tourist region of Tuscany in Italy.

During the night from Wednesday to Thursday, the earthquake in Siena measured 3.5 on the Richter scale.

Another quake with a magnitude of 2.8 followed in the morning.

“Earthquake Swarm” meets Tuscany

The Italian

speaks of an "earthquake swarm" that kept the residents of Siena awake throughout the night.

A number of buildings in the city now have to be checked for damage.

Against this background, the municipality has decided that all schools and universities will remain closed.

Civil defense technicians and firefighters are in the buildings.

And the museums in the tourist city and the popular tourist magnet Torre del Mangia will also remain closed.

So far there have been no reports of injuries.

Earthquake in Siena: schools closed, public buildings evacuated

Nevertheless, the earthquake swarm kept the residents of the city in suspense for hours.

As a precaution, a civil protection operation room was set up on the outskirts of the city.

After the second major tremor at around 8 a.m. (magnitude 2.8) and another six tremors with a magnitude between 2.5 and 2, the courthouse and all public offices were also evacuated as a precaution.

🔴Considerate le scosse di #terremoto che sono state avvertite questa sera a Siena, d'accordo con le Autorità cittadine, domani 9 febbraio tutti gli edifici universitari che hanno sede in Siena rimangono chiusi per i necessari controlli.

#terremotosienahttps://t.co/nxUja2cHdO pic.twitter.com/6eLjrTIh0z

— Università di Siena (@unisiena) February 8, 2023

According to current information, the epicenter of the earthquake is 8 kilometers deep and just under a kilometer south of Siena.

Basically, earthquakes in the region are not uncommon.

Italy is generally the most earthquake-prone country in Europe, reports

.

However, it is particularly common in the regions around the Apennine mountain range, which runs through Italy from north to south.

The background is that the Apennines were created by a collision of the African plate with the Eurasian plate.

The African plate is still pushing under the Eurasian plate.

In addition, the small Adriatic plate pushes in between from the east.

This leads to an increased risk of earthquakes.

People in Turkey and Syria are still struggling with the aftermath of a massive earthquake.

A tsunami warning was then issued for Italy.