Sometimes ignorance is bliss
Around 600,000 people (20% of the local population) live in the ‘red zone’, an area around Vesuvius with a radius of approximately 5 miles which would take the most impact in the event of a major eruption. Much of the accommodation in this area has been built without planning permission and doesn’t have the structural integrity to provide much, if any, protection to residents. In the event of a sudden big eruption, the majority of people living in the red zone would stand little chance of survival.
However, although everybody speaks about the threat from Vesuvius, the real danger lies in Phlegraean Fields, a vast volcanic complex including Solfatara situated to the west of the city, but closer to Naples than Vesuvius. This entire region is a super volcano, much like Yellowstone in USA or Taupo in New Zealand, and an eruption here would dwarf that of Vesuvius in 79AD.
The Vesuvian eruption buried nearby Pompeii under approximately 5m of ash, and Herculaneum under around 20m. In contrast, the last major eruption from Campi Flegrei, approximately 12,000 years ago, changed the landscape of the Sorrento peninsula located 20 miles (32km) across the bay.
Whilst a Vesuvian eruption akin to that of 79AD which destroyed Pompeii would be devastating to the local area, a major eruption from Campi Flegrei would likely remove Naples from the map and have far-reaching consequences across Europe and, possibly, globally.
Perhaps the Neapolitan attitude is right, after all - sometimes ignorance is bliss.
Sometimes ignorance is bliss
Around 600,000 people (20% of the local population) live in the ‘red zone’, an area around Vesuvius with a radius of approximately 5 miles which would take the most impact in the event of a major eruption. Much of the accommodation in this area has been built without planning permission and doesn’t have the structural integrity to provide much, if any, protection to residents. In the event of a sudden big eruption, the majority of people living in the red zone would stand little chance of survival.
However, although everybody speaks about the threat from Vesuvius, the real danger lies in Phlegraean Fields, a vast volcanic complex including Solfatara situated to the west of the city, but closer to Naples than Vesuvius. This entire region is a super volcano, much like Yellowstone in USA or Taupo in New Zealand, and an eruption here would dwarf that of Vesuvius in 79AD.
The Vesuvian eruption buried nearby Pompeii under approximately 5m of ash, and Herculaneum under around 20m. In contrast, the last major eruption from Campi Flegrei, approximately 12,000 years ago, changed the landscape of the Sorrento peninsula located 20 miles (32km) across the bay.
Whilst a Vesuvian eruption akin to that of 79AD which destroyed Pompeii would be devastating to the local area, a major eruption from Campi Flegrei would likely remove Naples from the map and have far-reaching consequences across Europe and, possibly, globally.
Perhaps the Neapolitan attitude is right, after all - sometimes ignorance is bliss.