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Hi there, I live around 30 km from Pompeii and I'm in a "safe zone". I'm only expected to receive some ashes in case of eruption (if the eruption is like the on

Hi there, I live around 30 km from Pompeii and I'm in a "safe zone". I'm only expected to receive some ashes in case of eruption (if the eruption is like the one of 1600, that is more probable but less strong than the one of 79BC). After a few years after the eruption, nobody knew the exact location of Pompeii and Ercolanum, and also for quite some time these two areas were unhabitated and used only for farming. The emperor at the time of the eruption, Tito, tried to rebuild the cities but nobody wanted to live there anymore. They only found out that Pompeii was there around 1500-1600. The repopulation of the area has happened during the last century, mainly because Italy was, after the second world war, in an economic boom and people built houses (and factories) without any permit. Politics was usually corrupted or "closed their eyes" for votes. And here we are. At the point we are now, it is impossible to relocate this huge amount of people (around 2M) anywhere. The evacuation plan itself is a joke, due to the nature of the eruptions of a stratovolcano. So, let's hope for the best, as there's nothing we can do to prepare for the worse.

arethuza 6y ago
Aren't there multiple volcanoes in that area? I thought the biggest risk at the moment was supposed to be the Phlegraean Fields rather than Vesuvius https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phlegraean_Fields https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phlegraean_Fields
- musikele 6y ago
  Vesuvius is the most problematic because in the past it showed a 25 years cycle between eruptions, but the eruption of ~1975 was missed (last was in 1944 and lava capped the eruptive canal). Anyway, this Vulcanic area is the most populated in the world and evacuating will be a mess. Every time I hyke to the Vesuvius top, guides explain that there are other active vulcanos in the area; they are all considered active and may harm at any moment. The Phlegraean Fields are problematic because they generate a lot of bradyseism (and in some places the ground went underwater for about 10 meters!), but for now they are considered quiescent. Ischia island also is a volcano, that has erupted last time around 700 BC. Finally, there's an underwater volcano called Marsilii, that can generate a tsunami. All these volcanos are stricly monitored.
  - arethuza 6y ago
    A couple of years back I was on a flight from the UK to Sicily and it flew down the coast there and so much of what you can see looked volcanic - Ponza in particular.

arethuza 6y ago

Aren't there multiple volcanoes in that area? I thought the biggest risk at the moment was supposed to be the Phlegraean Fields rather than Vesuvius https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phlegraean_Fields https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phlegraean_Fields

musikele 6y ago
Vesuvius is the most problematic because in the past it showed a 25 years cycle between eruptions, but the eruption of ~1975 was missed (last was in 1944 and lava capped the eruptive canal). Anyway, this Vulcanic area is the most populated in the world and evacuating will be a mess. Every time I hyke to the Vesuvius top, guides explain that there are other active vulcanos in the area; they are all considered active and may harm at any moment. The Phlegraean Fields are problematic because they generate a lot of bradyseism (and in some places the ground went underwater for about 10 meters!), but for now they are considered quiescent. Ischia island also is a volcano, that has erupted last time around 700 BC. Finally, there's an underwater volcano called Marsilii, that can generate a tsunami. All these volcanos are stricly monitored.
- arethuza 6y ago
  A couple of years back I was on a flight from the UK to Sicily and it flew down the coast there and so much of what you can see looked volcanic - Ponza in particular.