The Italian government is planning a possible mass evacuation of tens of thousands of people living near the supervolcano in the “Campi Flegrei” area near Naples. The new measures, which include a plan to check the resistance of buildings in the area after months of repeated earthquakes, are currently being examined by the government, Roma said.
The Campi Flegrei (Phlegrean Fields – Greek for “burn”) are about 20 kilometers from Naples. Here you will find densely populated cities like Pozzuoli, Agnano and Bacoli, which together have more than 500,000 inhabitants. The area is dotted with 24 craters and is a much larger volcano than nearby Vesuvius, which destroyed the ancient Roman city of Pompeii in 79 AD.
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More than 1,100 earthquakes in September
Last month alone, the region was hit by more than 1,100 earthquakes, including a 4.0 magnitude quake on Monday and a 4.2 magnitude quake last week – the region’s strongest in four decades. Experts say the increase in seismic activity is likely due to a phenomenon known as “bradyseism,” in which the Earth rises or falls depending on the cycle, caused by the filling or emptying of underground magma chambers.
Most volcanologists say there is no immediate threat of an eruption, but with the ground currently rising at a rate of 1.5 centimeters per month, authorities are concerned about the impact on buildings. Civil Protection Minister Nello Musumeci said this week that evacuations would only be carried out in cases of “extreme necessity”. The office aims to provide more resources to local disaster management authorities so they can respond quickly in an emergency and fund a communications campaign to raise public awareness, Musumeci said.
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In the “Campi Flegrei” area, many cracks can be seen in the local streets.
© Image: APA/AFP/ALBERTO PIZZOLI
The last major volcanic eruption occurred in 1538
Local media reported that a group of hospitals in the region began evacuation tests on Friday to ensure they were prepared for earthquakes or stronger eruptions. The last time Campi Flegrei was hit by a comparable number of earthquakes was in the 1980s. At that time, around 40,000 people were temporarily evacuated from nearby Pozzuoli.
The last major volcanic eruption occurred in 1538. One of the biggest eruptions in history occurred 39,000 years ago and may have led to the extinction of Neanderthals, researchers say. Magma from this eruption was found in Greenland, about 4,500 kilometers away.