Small magnitude 3.9 earthquake 28 km northwest of Bronte, Italy

A magnitude 3.9 earthquake near Bronte, Province of Catania, Sicily, Italy, was reported only 3 minutes ago by the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC), considered one of the key international agencies that monitor seismic activity worldwide. The earthquake occurred at a shallow depth of 10. km beneath the epicenter early afternoon on Sunday, January 18th, 2026, at 2:54 pm local time. The exact magnitude, epicenter, and depth of the quake might be revised within the next few hours or minutes as seismologists review data and refine their calculations, or as other agencies issue their report.
Based on the preliminary seismic data, the quake should not have caused any significant damage, but was probably felt by many people as light vibration in the area of the epicenter.
Weak shaking might have been felt in Alcara Li Fusi (pop. 2,000) located 4 km from the epicenter.
Other towns or cities near the epicenter where the quake might have been felt as very weak shaking include Bronte (pop. 19,100) located 28 km from the epicenter, Adrano (pop. 34,400) 40 km away, Biancavilla (pop. 23,200) 44 km away, Barcellona Pozzo di Gotto (pop. 34,600) 51 km away, Paterno (pop. 46,000) 53 km away, Acireale (pop. 49,500) 62 km away, and Catania (pop. 311,600) 67 km away.

Earthquake data:
Date & time: Jan 18, 2026 01:54 pm (Universal Time) local time (18 Jan 2026 13:54 GMT)
Magnitude: 4.0
Depth: 5.00 km
Epicenter latitude / longitude: 38°N / 14.67°E (Province of Messina, Sicily, Italy)
Primary data source: EMSC
https://www.volcanodiscovery.com/earthquake/news/292258/Small-magnitude-39-earthquake-28-km-northwest-of-Bronte-Italy.html