The crater ejects magma flows on average once every three months.
Photo: REUTERS.
The Etna volcano has begun to erupt in Sicily: all the world’s media are publishing images of the burning magma and smoke covering the island. Catania airport has had to be closed and firefighting planes are in operation. Periodic “pranks” by one of the most famous volcanoes in the world are common in Italy and in recent years have passed without serious consequences. But scientists do not rule out that volcanic activity on Italian soil could become catastrophic.
Mongibello, as Etna is also known by locals, regularly hosts fire and smoke shows. The crater releases magma flows on average once every three months. Italians, of course, do not settle on the most dangerous slopes, but nearby towns and villages, covered in volcanic dust, suffer emissions, groves and crops are destroyed.
But Etna is capable of more. The most memorable in the foreseeable past was its eruption in 1669, when lava approached the city walls of Catania and flowed into the Ionian Sea.
What will happen if Vesuvius wakes up? Will Naples repeat the fate of Pompeii? Especially considering that the handsome man recently reminded himself of himself with an earthquake after 40 years of peace…
Despite the still hypothetical nature of such a disaster, the local Ministry of Emergency Situations does not believe so. Otherwise, why would the Italian Civil Defence Agency develop plans to overcome the consequences of such a disaster, including the evacuation of the population?
In addition, every five years the department models possible eruption scenarios of Vesuvius, from weak to catastrophic. According to the materials, the awakening of the volcano, even in the “basic” version (the probability of this happening is estimated at 30%), will require the mandatory evacuation of 700 thousand people. A significant part of the Campania region will be in danger, the expected number of victims will be in the thousands and agricultural activities will be impossible within 3 to 5 years.
Of course, Vesuvius is dangerous, but very close to it is the even more formidable Italian Yellowstone, a volcano near Campi Flegrei (Phlegrean Fields), whose super-eruption 40,000 years ago was one of the reasons for the onset of the “Volcanic Winter” and the extinction of the Neanderthals.
The Phlegraean Fields are the name given to the volcanic area in the Gulf of Pozzuoli, west of Naples (near the island of Ischia). Underwater there is a 15-kilometre caldera (a volcanic basin) and at least 24 craters.
During the prehistoric explosion, air temperatures in Europe dropped by 5 to 10 °C, volcanic rocks flew as far as the Southern Urals, and more than 1.1 million square kilometres were covered by a layer of ash – from southern Italy to the Black Sea and Caspian Sea regions. The layer reached almost one metre as far as Romania.
This super explosion may have been mentioned in ancient Greek myths. According to one version, it was near Naples that the Gigantomachy, the battle of the gods led by Zeus with the giants, took place.
Against the background of the awakening of such a “super”, the hypothetical activity of Vesuvius will seem like mere childish talk. The last eruption in the Phlegraean Fields occurred not so long ago – on September 29, 1538, and activity in the magmatic layers beneath the “fields” is still being recorded today.
