Italians anxious for possible volcanic eruption as earthquakes rattle region

Thousands of fearful Italians are gearing up for a mass evacuation for a possible volcanic eruption after earthquakes have rattled the region.

Italian government leaders are preparing for an eruption, though unlikely, in Campi Flegrei – a volcanic area near the city of Pozzuoli just outside Naples. There have been around 500 earthquakes in the area since October, and at the end of September, a 4.2 magnitude quake rocked the region following another 1,000 smaller ones.  

It was the strongest rumble in the area in 40 years.

“You feel that? It’s nonstop earthquakes here,” Luca Averna, a part-time fisherman, told the Wall Street Journal recently as he worked on his small boat during a 3.6-magnitude tremor this month.

“We’re used to it, but that doesn’t mean we aren’t afraid.”

There are more than 70,000 residents in Pozzuoli. The last time there was an eruption at Campi Flegrei was in 1538 with the quakes tied to signs of volcanic activity under the surface.

“Even those small ones (quakes) make us afraid,” mother of two Annamaria Scardi said last month. “We are worried because (we are supposed to) run away. But where do we go? Where? This is the situation. We’re on edge.”

While experts have said there is no imminent threat of an eruption, there is still cause for concern in Italy that other locations with super volcanoes – like Yellowstone – don’t need to worry about.

“The difference is that in Yellowstone, if you think the eruption is coming, you can send the tourists home and close the park for four years,” University of Naples geology professor Alessandro Iannace told the Journal.

“You can’t do that with Campi Flegrei. There are just too many people there.”

There are also worries the activity is causing ground uplift and descent that can destabilize buildings.

Authorities reportedly have given out flyers titled “I’m Not Risking It” that have info on how to flee if an eruption is soon coming. Officials have also pinpointed escape routes though locals claim the traffic would be too clogged in the event there is a complete evacuation.

“If you want to live in Pozzuoli, you have to learn to cohabit with the volcano,” clothing shop manager Roberto Marotta told the newspaper.

“You’re always thinking about it, even when you sleep. If my wife moves in bed I jump up thinking it’s a quake.”

With Post wires