FLORENCE, ITALY – As many as 200 earthquake shocks measuring up to 4.1 on the Richter scale rocked Tuscany Friday December 19, 2014, and seismologists said it is impossible to predict when the series of tremors will end. The epicentre of the tremors was located near the villages of Barberino Val d’Elsa, Greve in Chianti and Tavernelle in Val di Pesa.
Some schools in Florence and Siena were evacuated as the 4.1-magnitude quake was felt between the cities and throughout the wine-producing Chianti area, prompting people in the regional capital to leave buildings and take to the streets. Firefighters received numerous calls, but there were no immediate reports of injuries.
Seismologists at INGV, the National Institute of Geophysics and Vulcanology, said it was impossible to foresee the duration of the rash of earth shocks and that the seismic activity was typical of other such rashes of tremors that have hit other areas of Italy recently. It is possibile to follow the tremors activity in real time on the INGV website.
In Florence tourist visits to the Palazzo Vecchio were suspended and then resumed but the Arnolfo tower was closed. Florence interim superintendant for museums Alessandra Marina said all museums in the Tuscan capital were remaining open though they are being inspected for signs of damage.
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