The earthquake that struck the Campi Flegrei on July 31, 2026, caused building damage and forced a growing number of residents to leave their homes. Local reporting later put the number of displaced people at about 6,000, in addition to about 1,000 people still away from home after the previous seismic crisis.
What happened on July 31
According to the Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV), the earthquake occurred at 19:46:43, with duration magnitude Md 4.7 and a depth of 2.6 km.
The Department of Civil Protection describes it as the strongest earthquake recorded in the Phlegraean area in 2026. It places the event within the ongoing bradyseismic crisis and continued ground uplift affecting Campi Flegrei.
INGV reported dozens of injuries and numerous instances of damage in the early aftermath.
How many people had to leave home
The figures reported by different sources refer to different phases of the emergency.
In the initial phase after the earthquake, INGV reported that about 800 people had been forced to leave their homes.
Il Mattino subsequently reported a much larger total: about 6,000 displaced people, plus about 1,000 people still away from home from the earlier crisis. The same report cites 907 evacuation orders issued by the Municipality of Pozzuoli, covering 2,748 households.
That figure of about 6,000 comes from press reporting. The sources collected for this article do not provide a complete official table with matching criteria and update date for that later total. Readers should therefore treat it as a reported total at a later stage, not as directly comparable to the initial INGV figure.
Naples: reception and checks
The Municipality of Naples confirmed the 4.7-magnitude shock at 19:46, the activation of the Centro Operativo Comunale, and the opening of the reception area in Via Terracina.
On August 1, 13 families, for a total of 31 people, were registered in that reception area.
The number of displaced people remains subject to change while habitability checks continue and any returns take place.
Why this is part of a longer crisis
A useful point for readers is that the July 31 shock was not isolated. The Civil Protection Department explicitly links it to the active bradyseism crisis in Campi Flegrei, marked by ongoing ground uplift.
That context matters because damage, evacuation orders, and displacement have accumulated across successive events. The about 1,000 people reported as still away from home from the previous crisis show that the July earthquake added to an already displaced population, rather than starting from zero.
Understanding the numbers
A second point that helps interpret the headlines: the published totals were taken at different times.
The figure of about 800 people describes the first phase after the earthquake. The figure of about 6,000 describes a later situation, after further inspections and evacuation orders.
No verified breakdown is available in the sources collected for this article by municipality, neighborhood, type of accommodation, or status of individual orders. It is also not possible from those sources to establish how many of the about 6,000 displaced people later received financial assistance, hotel accommodation, or returned home.
For current assistance, accommodation, and return decisions, residents should follow updates from the municipalities of Pozzuoli and Naples, the Civil Protection Department, and INGV.
