Google, By The Associated Press (CP) – 16 August 2010
ROME — A moderate earthquake rocked the Aeolian islands off Sicily Monday, sending several people to hospital with panic attacks or minor injuries, doctors and local officials said.
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Aeolian Islands, Italy |
The Italian civil protection agency said the quake struck at 2:54 p.m. (1254 GMT) off the coast of Lipari, the main island of the seven-island chain and had a magnitude of 4.5, according to the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology. Besides shaking the tiny islands, the earthquake was also felt on Sicily's northeastern coast, near the port city of Messina, the agency said.
Rocco Favara, from the institute, told Sky TG24 TV that the temblor struck about 19 kilometres (13 miles) under the sea.
The chief anesthesiologist at Lipari's hospital, Antonio Indaimo, told the TV some people were treated for minor injuries at a first aid station on the island, while several others suffered panic attacks.
On the Aeolian island of Salina, the mayor of the town of Leni said people calmed down after an initial scare.
"There were moments of swaying and then some panic," Riccardo Gullo said.
Civil protection officials in Messina said the quake had set off some small landslides on Lipari, but had no details.
The Aeolians' tiny year-round population is small, but the islands get packed with thousands of tourists during the summer. The archipelago is of volcanic origin, with the northernmost island in the chain, Stromboli, one of the world's most active volcanoes.
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