The smell of sulfur, the views from a fairy tale. “Are you renovating an apartment in the epicenter of a volcano?”
Photo: Bacoli.it, Flegrei.it
Vesuvius is just smoking. Etna is the queen of the show. The volcano west of Naples is completely different. Underground, dormant. And on it is a city that shakes up to 150 times a day. Number of inhabitants? 80 thousand. – I invested all my money in this apartment. Maybe they will write about me in books later: the woman who was the first victim of the eruption – laughs Mrs. Angela, whose windows overlook the crater. Is it safe to live near a volcano? And… inside him?
“TEST TEST. Campi Flegrei 2024 exercises. This is a test IT-alert message. A SIMULATION of possible volcanic activity in Campi Flegrei is underway. To find out the message you will receive in the event of a real threat and to complete the questionnaire, go to www.it-alert.gov.it TEST TEST”
-“I got this message too, what's going on?”
-“In case of an earthquake, they will send you a warning and you run away. As if any warning was needed…”
-“An earthquake is unpredictable, so they won't send us anything.”
-“And where should we run away?”
-“Well, we're screwed ;)”
(comments from Pozzuoli residents under information about the commenced evacuation exercises)
Pozzuoli is located right next to Naples, the capital of the Campania region. They may be familiar to Sophia Loren's loyal fans, because that's where the actress comes from, and to every geologist, because Pozzuoli is the only city in the world built literally on a volcano.
Naples and two volcanoesGoogle Maps, tvn24.pl
This is a supervolcano called Campi Flegrei. Unlike the Italian celebrity volcanoes, the majestic Etna and Vesuvius, it does not have the form of a cone. Only its caldera, i.e. a 13-kilometer-long depression in the peak, is visible on the earth's surface. There is a large lake of liquid magma underneath.
On October 11, at noon, the phones of Campania's residents emitted shrill warning signals, vibrated, and the above-mentioned content appeared on the screens. Not everyone knew what was happening, but there were those who knew perfectly well: exercises organized by the Italian Civil Defense were underway. Several hundred residents of Pozzuoli and nearby towns took part (the trial evacuation in 2019 attracted only a few dozen people). They pretended to escape from the volcano in trains and buses.
– We should be ready for such an evacuation at any second – there is no doubt in Giuseppe Mastrolorenzo, a volcanologist who has devoted his entire professional life, i.e. over thirty years, to researching the surrounding areas. Sam lives on… the slope of one of the craters.
– I have wonderful views here, landscapes like from a fairy tale – he tells me, and I feel him smiling.
– What about security? You, other people are not afraid of living under a volcano? – I ask.
– They are terribly afraid. “Me and every other adult have experienced several thousand earthquakes here, because they happen very often,” he explains. – However, we do not know whether they can herald an eruption, there is no hard evidence for this. They can, but they don't have to, he reserves.
As he says, the volcanic eruption under their feet may happen in a thousand years, but it may as well happen in a month. – We do not have an “agreement” with the volcano, but I am afraid that it may not give us 72 hours to escape – he supposes.
In May, an earthquake occurred in the Phlegrean Fields with a magnitude that had not been recorded there for the past 40 years.
Is life safe in volcanic areas?
Flegraean Fields, view of Monte Nuovoinstagram.com/peppnapp
“The good one who does not kill” and others
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