2023-10-05 01:28:00
A general view shows the smoke from the “solfatara” in the Campi Flegrei (Flegraean Fields) a volcanic region near Naples (Photo by Alberto PIZZOLI / AFP)
As a child, Alfredo Colato boiled eggs in the Phlegraean Fields, a volcanic caldera located near Naples that experts warn might erupt due to the earthquakes that recur in this Italian region.
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Recent tremors, including a magnitude 4.2 one last week that was the strongest in 40 years, have sowed concern among the half a million people who live in the risk zone in the event of an eruption.
Alfredo Colato lives in the heart of the Phlegraean Fields region. On one side, the houses face the volcanic lands. On the other, they offer beautiful views of the Gulf of Pozzuoli.
Constructions in the Bagnoli area, near Pozzuoli, in the Phlegraean Fields, a volcanic region near Naples (AFP)
At 62 years old, Alfredo remembers that he and his childhood friends would wrap eggs in aluminum foil in the Solfatara crater, amidst the puffs of volcanic gases that emerged from the ground.
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From the crest of the crater, where the smell of sulfur is overwhelming, they used to contemplate Monte Nuovo (the new mountain), which emerged from the last eruption in 1538.
Smoke from the “solfatara” in the Campi Flegrei (Flegraean Fields)
The volcano, which extends over a perimeter of 15 by 12 kilometers, presents the typical flat-bottomed depression left following an eruption.
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Located facing the sea on the borders of the municipalities of Naples and Pozzuoli, it is the largest active caldera in Europe.
In this region, the Phlegraean Fields are in the shadow of the nearby Vesuvius, whose majestic silhouette dominates the entire Bay of Naples. Famous for having destroyed Pompeii from the map in the year 79, its threat is now less.
On the other hand, although the Phlegraean Fields do not have the characteristic conical shape, they should not be underestimated. 40,000 years ago, they staged the most powerful eruption on record in the Mediterranean, which affected the global climate.
Despite this, the region has been densely populated for thousands of years due to its temperate climate, fertile lands and hot water sources, once frequented by Roman emperors.
What was his summer villa, Bayas, is now submerged, a victim of bradyism, a volcanic phenomenon that raises or sinks the ground due to underground activity.
More and more residents of the area take anti-anxiety medications. There are those who fear a forced evacuation in the event of an eruption. “This will be chaos, we will be in the hands of God,” says Felice Galloro, 78, fatalistically.
An increase in volcanic activity in the early 1980s caused the evacuation of 40,000 inhabitants. Many of them in Pozzuoli are still traumatized today.
Temple of Serapis in the Phlegraean Fields (AFP)
“It was a ghost town,” remembers Armando Follera, 61, who was evacuated with his mother and spent three years in temporary accommodation.
According to the Civil Protection emergency plan, the risk area is divided into sections, each of them twinned with a region of Italy that would host evacuees in the event of a catastrophe.
The inhabitants of Pozzuoli, for example, would be transferred to Lombardy, a rich northern region whose capital is Milan.
Felice Galloro says he is “ready to die” at home. For Alfredo Colato, being taken from his house to go north would be like “dying twice.”
At the observatory of the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV), swarms of small red dots on a map reflect the region’s numerous tremors, including a magnitude 4 one on Monday.
According to Sandro de Vita, a 63-year-old volcanologist, the shaking will continue as long as the gases emitted by the magma put pressure on the surface and crack the ground.
Residents compare the current activity to that of the 1980s, when there might be up to 500 shakes a day. De Vita specifies that they are now less strong.
The expert does not predict earthquakes of magnitude greater than 5, although these can already be dangerous. Earthquakes caused by volcanoes are usually shallower and can cause more damage to the surface.
A catastrophic scenario, with the expulsion of lava, ash and stones, is unlikely in the near future, considers De Vita.
Statue of Martín de León y Cárdenas in Pozzuoli (AFP)
Before this happens, there will be changes that “will allow us to warn in the event of an imminent eruption,” he says.
“People should not be afraid. Or rather, they should be afraid, but only when we tell them so,” she specifies.
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