It severely damaged numerous towns in a vast area, completely destroying Cerreto Sannita and Guardia Sanframondi.

The magnitude of the main shock is reported as 6.98 ±0.12 by the Italian National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology,[full citation needed] while the Mercalli intensity is estimated as XI (Extreme).

[1][6][place missing] Three towns were completely destroyed by the earthquake: Cerreto Sannita, Guardia Sanframondi, and Civitella Licinio, a frazione of Cusano Mutri.

[1][5] Benevento was hit harshly by the earthquake, with over 80% of the buildings being significantly damaged or destroyed, including the Santa Sofia church.

In Benevento 1,367 people died out of a population of 7,500; the number of deaths was lower because many citizens were working in the countryside at the time.

[1] The earthquake had a strong impact on the economy and the social fabric of the affected area, which at the time belonged to the Kingdom of Naples, except for Benevento, which was an exclave of the Papal States.

The two governments involved granted tax relief to the people of the area and put forth other measures to mitigate the societal effects of the earthquake.

[11][12][13] The Papal States sent experts to Benevento: they ascertained that the houses that used river pebbles had fared worse than those built with bricks.

Acting under the guidance of engineers and technicians, the new town was made with larger roads, square blocks of houses, buildings with only one or two floors, and other safety measures.