Thousands of terrified Italians are preparing for mass evacuations for a possible volcanic eruption after an earthquake rocked the region.
Italian government leaders are preparing for an eruption, however unlikely, at Campi Flegrei – a volcanic area near the town of Pozzuoli outside Naples.
There have been about 500 earthquakes in the area since October, and in late September, a 4.2-magnitude quake rocked the region following 1,000 smaller ones.
It was the strongest rumble in the area in 40 years.
“You think so? It’s non-stop earthquakes here,” Luca Averna, a part-time fisherman, told the Wall Street Journal recently as he worked on his small boat during this month’s 3.6-magnitude tremor.
“We’re used to it, but that doesn’t mean we’re not scared.”
There are more than 70,000 inhabitants in Pozzuoli. The last time an eruption occurred at Campi Flegrei was in 1538 with an earthquake tied to signs of subsurface volcanic activity.
View of the Solfatara crater, part of the Campi Flegrei Volcano in Pozzuoli, the largest caldera in southern Italy, Campania region. KONTROLAB/LightRocket via Getty Images
“Even that small (earthquake) scares us,” mother-of-two Annamaria Scardi said last month. “We are worried because (we should) run away. But where are we going? where? This is the situation. We are on the edge.”
Although experts say there is no threat of an imminent eruption, there is still reason to worry in Italy that other locations with super volcanoes – such as Yellowstone – should not be concerned.
“The difference is that in Yellowstone, if you think an eruption is coming, you can send tourists home and close the park for four years,” University of Naples geology professor Alessandro Iannace told the Journal.
Stefania Briganti, a ballerina in Milan, looks at the sulfuric smoke billowing from the Campi Flegrei volcano area.REUTERS
“You can’t do that with Campi Flegrei. There are too many people there.”
There is also concern that the activity causes the ground to rise and fall which could affect the stability of the building.
Authorities have reportedly given out leaflets titled “I’m Not Risking It” that have information on how to escape if an eruption is imminent. Officials have also determined an escape route although locals claim traffic will be too congested if there is a full evacuation.
Residents in the area fear the eruption could disrupt their daily lives. Getty Images
“If you want to live in Pozzuoli, you have to learn to live with the volcano,” clothing store manager Roberto Marotta told the newspaper.
“You’re always thinking about it, even when you’re sleeping. If my wife moves in bed, I’ll jump thinking it’s an earthquake.”
With Postal wire
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
