Florence, 12 May 2022 – A rumble that seems interminable, dark, deep. Then the earth that trembles underfoot, strong. At 11.12pmin the dark, the seismographs record yet another roar that shakes the province of Florence, but also others city of Tuscany.
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The network of the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology certifies that the quake is of a magnitude of 3.7. Loud. Well warned. Like those that in recent days had already scared the area south of the city, as you can see from the graph accompanying this article.
The epicenter, once again, is in the area south of the hinterland of the capital, in Municipality of Impruneta. Fear, in the dark, while families are at home on television, takes over. The fire brigade switchboards are filled with phone calls and reports, even if up to the time we are writing this service no damage has been officially recorded.
As always, the checks by the managers and technicians of the Civil Protection of the Metropolitan City of Florence are immediate, but the alarm also involves Prato, Pistoia, Empolese with Capraia, Vinci, Montelupo and the capital. Reports also come from Monsummano Terme, but also from the province of Siena, in the upper part of Colle Val d’Elsa and Poggibonsi, and from Lucca.
Sleepless night, the nightmare takes away sleep. In some towns in the Florentine belt someone leaves their homes and takes refuge by car, at least for a while. All this while the information networks of the Ingv and the Metropolitan City crystallize the data: epicenter 3 kilometers southwest of Impruneta, 8 kilometers deep, with magnitude 3.7. Another tremor is recorded at 11.15 pm: it is of magnitude 2.3, always in the same area, but 9 kilometers deep.
It is in this area, in fact, that the earthquake has been giving no respite for a week now. A few days ago, the first tremors, starting at 5.50 am, had already thrown open the doors to the lordship of fear and raised the alarm, with timely checks on homes, public buildings and architectural and artistic heritage, especially in Florence, a treasure chest of the artistic and cultural heritage.
This time, however, the shock lasts longer. Or at least this is the perception. And the anguish is amplified by the night, by the darkness, by a nightmare that never seems to abandon us.
Firefighters’ switchboards continue to receive calls from frightened citizens. Someone also gets in touch with our newspaper: “We felt a very strong shock, we are afraid”, some readers tell us with excited voices, asking for information.
The night of the earthquake envelops half of Tuscany. It is the night of fear.
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