Italian authorities issued a tsunami alert on Friday after a series of earthquakes was detected off the country’s Mediterranean coast.
Up to 12 tremors, with magnitudes reaching 5.0, were recorded near Sicily around midday, leading to precautionary evacuations of schools in Palermo and Messina. The first quake struck at 11:40 a.m. with a magnitude of 3.3, while the other 11 all measured above 3.0, officials said.
The United States Geological Survey, however, recorded a magnitude 5.7 quake at a depth of 10 kilometers (about 6 miles) north of the island at 10:19 a.m. local time.
⚠️ UPDATE: An M5.7 earthquake struck the Tyrrhenian Sea off Sicily, Italy, at PM local time.
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Centered 61 km WNW of Leni at a depth of 10 km, it reportedly caused widespread rolling shaking along coastal areas.
Terremoto – Sismo – Temblor – Italy – Sicily – Leni – Palermo – Messina – Trapani
— GeoTechWar (@geotechwar) October 23, 2026
An orange tsunami alert urged residents to stay alert and use caution near the coast. According to local media, students left their classrooms and public offices were emptied. A courthouse was evacuated as far away as Trapani, on Sicily’s west coast, and students and municipal employees left buildings on Lipari, an island between Sicily and mainland Italy.
The epicenter was less than 60 miles from Palermo, Sicily’s capital, which has a population of about 648,000. Residents reported feeling the tremors in Palermo, Patti, Licata, Capo d’Orlando and Campofelice di Roccella. Licata is about 110 miles from the epicenter.
As of the latest reports, there were no injuries or property damage.
Mayor urges caution
Palermo Mayor Roberto Lagalla said authorities were closely monitoring the developing situation. In a statement, he said no damage to people or property had been reported so far, but that officials had a duty to take every necessary step to keep residents safe. He described any evacuation of public buildings as purely precautionary, driven by the need to act quickly and carefully.
Lagalla urged residents and people near the coast to stay away from the sea and follow instructions from the authorities.
Tornado hit Sicily earlier this month
The earthquakes come weeks after a tornado struck the western Sicilian city of Marsala and nearby towns, an event experts described as almost unprecedented for the island.
On October 9, the twister overturned vehicles, destroyed a house and damaged a school and other buildings. Two people were seriously injured.
Salvatore Cocina, head of Sicily’s civil protection agency, told Reuters the storm resembled an American tornado and was more violent than anything seen in living memory.
In early September, the agency had warned that the scorching summer had caused heat to build up, which could lead to extreme weather events in the fall.