A video posted on social media shows the moment the 5.2 magnitude earthquake hit Italy‘s central region of Molise.
The quake’s epicentre was in the western-coastal Italian city Montecilfone.
The quake was also felt in the closest towns of Rieti and Alto Velino, still recovering from a powerful earthquake in 2016.
The shock sparked fears over active volcano Vesuvius in the city of Naples. Francesca Bianco, director of the Vesuvius Observatory, told press agency Ansa she has received floods of phone calls from worried residents.
A 2.2 magnitude shock has reached the Vesuvius area.
Twitter users have claimed the quake could be felt all the way to southern Italy.
Residents in Naples, Campania have tweeted words of support for their neighbouring region as they reported to have also felt the shock.
One Twitter user wrote: “Friends from Molise, I really hope you’re all OK and there are no damages as we felt a strong shock in Naples.”
Franco Pallotta, Mayor of Montecilfone told Italian daily Corriere della Sera: “We’re in a four stories building, on the ground floor we saw the walls moving and a water pipe broke.
“It was very scary, most people took it to the streets.”
Residents of the close town of Palata have reported slight damage to their homes and cracks on buildings.
This is the second serious shock to hit the region after a 4.7 shock was felt on Tuesday night.
The depth of the quake has been reported to be around 12km from the epicentre.