Eimear Murphy was in the shower when the ground started moving at around 7.45pm on Friday. The 46-year-old from Dublin felt the villa shake beneath her and shouted to her children to get out as the walls began to crack.
The family were part of a 15-strong group staying at an Airbnb villa with a swimming pool in Pozzuoli, a coastal town about 20 minutes from Naples. Along with Eimear, her husband David and their children Jack (13) and twins Kate and Conor (10), were Eimear's sister Roisin Purcell, her partner Shane Kendrick and their four children, and Eimear's parents Marian and Tom O'Farrell.
The group had arrived on Tuesday, July 28, and had been enjoying their holiday when the earthquake struck.
Strongest tremor in four decades
The 4.7-magnitude earthquake was centred on Pozzuoli and is among the most severe to hit the region in four decades. It sent residents across the Campi Flegrei volcanic zone running into the streets as buildings trembled. Tremors were felt across Naples and surrounding towns.
On Saturday, streets were strewn with rubble and masonry from building fronts, and power outages left many neighbourhoods in darkness. Emergency services reported at least four people injured.
'I thought we were going to die'
Recounting the moment, Eimear said she was in the shower and two of the children were inside watching iPads while the rest of the family were on the veranda. "I felt the ground moving and although the earthquake was only six seconds, it felt much longer," she told the Irish Mirror.
"I really thought the house was collapsing and I shouted to the boys to get out. My husband was outside shouting at us to get out too." She added: "We all ran out of the villa and stood around in shock in the garden until around 2am. There was pure panic and I really thought the villa was going to collapse on us and I thought we were going to die."
Cuts, bruises and a damaged villa
No one in the family was seriously hurt, but Eimear sustained cuts and gashes to her arms, and her daughter was struck on the knee by a falling brick. The villa itself suffered significant damage, with cracks running through walls and stairs.
"The walls are all cracked, the stairs are cracked, we cleaned up the debris but our clothes are destroyed with dust," Eimear said. "We are afraid the whole building is going to fall down."
A night without sleep and hopes of leaving
The family had to sleep in the villa overnight as aftershocks continued, but no one got any rest. "We had to sleep in the villa last night but none of us really slept. The kids are upset and didn't sleep a wink and we are all traumatised by it," she said. "Today there are aftershocks and the ground is still shaking but we are all safe and that's the main thing."
They are now waiting for a structural engineer, arranged by the villa owner, to decide whether it is safe to continue staying there. They are also trying to arrange earlier flights home, but travel remains difficult with local services shut. "We can't get flights out of here and all the shops and supermarkets are closed and the ports are closed too," Eimear said. "We are living off Tayto crisps which we brought with us from home and bread rolls and water for now."
An eerie town and a wish to be home
Eimear described Pozzuoli as tense and eerie, with police cars racing around with sirens and residents anxious about what might come next. "The town is very eerie today, everyone is freaked out and we are all apprehensive and just want to be home," she said.
"There's a lot of panic around the town today, police cars are flying around the place with sirens on." She said the family were trying to stay calm for the children. "We are all trying to stay calm for the sake of the kids but we just want to get out as we are nervous."
Summing up the ordeal, Eimear said: "It's a holiday that turned to hell and we just wish we were home now."
