CATANIA, Sicily - A 4.4 magnitude earthquake was recorded by the Ingv (the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology) in the province of Catania on Friday. 

 The earthquake was recorded at a depth of is 20.2 km and the epicentre was in the sea, about six kilometres off the coast of Aci Castello. In several districts of Catania, residents took to the streets and some factories in the industrial area were evacuated as a precaution. Almost all of them have resumed their activities. There was also fear among customers of shopping centres, who left the facilities.

 The earthquake was felt particularly strongly in the Etna area of Acireale and reports have reached as far as Caltagirone. "The tremor was felt throughout eastern Sicily and in the inland areas due to the depth and proximity to the coast of the epicentre," seismologist Raffaele Azzaro of the Ingv's Etna Observatory told Ansa.

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