Earthquakes continue in the Phlegraean Fields, after a period of calm, the earthquake swarm in the municipalities of the Phlegraean Fields has once again begun. Above all, in the Solfatara area, where more earthquakes, even of significant intensity, continue to be recorded.
And the thought returns for everyone: volcanologists and resident citizens of a possible super eruption of the great volcano.
An eruption that if it occurs could be even worse than the one that occurred in Pompeii in 79 AD. Even top experts speak of a super eruption with 10 times the energy of Pompeii.
The large caldera that has been in a dormant state since 1538 present in the Gulf of Pozzuoli in the Province of Naples continues to strike fear once again. Especially in the red zone that includes the municipalities of Bacoli, Pozzuoli, Monte di Procida and Quarto in its entirety. And parts of the municipalities of Giugliano in Campania, Marano di Napoli and some municipalities in Naples.
The alert level raised from Green to Yellow due to the continuous earthquakes that are afflicting the Phlegraean Fields area. And it has prompted authorities to adopt an evacuation plan in case the alert level should still rise.
What is constantly being monitored at the moment is the level of ground rise caused by bradyseism, which has reached a new record in the past month.
New tremor of magnitude 3.6 on 16/10/2023
In recent weeks the situation had subsided somewhat the earthquakes had stopped, but not the ground uplift, which broke a new record.
Bradyseism resulted in a rise of 20 centimeters in the ground, a new record after the one that occurred in 1984.
This brief period of calm, after the intense earthquakes that reached magnitude 4.2 in the Phlegraean Fields areas in early October, had brought serenity back to the resident population once again.
But experts expected a new return of seismic events, due to the bradyseism that had not abated at all; on the contrary, the ground is continuing to rise at a rapid pace.
And the new earthquake tremors in recent days confirm the experts’ claim.
Seismographs recorded major new tremors especially in the Solfatara and Pozzuoli areas that reached magnitude 3.6 on Oct. 16. And which were also felt sharply in many municipalities in Naples.
At the moment, the level of attention is highest and scholars are focusing on ground level monitoring.
Although the situation may gradually reassert itself, as it did during the earthquake swarm that struck the Phlegraean Fields in 1984.
1984 Phlegraean Fields Earthquake
Also in 1984, the Phlegraean Fields were affected by massive seismic activity.
The earthquakes were intense and reached a maximum magnitude of 3.8, there was also considerable ground uplift in that case. But then the situation subsided as the earthquakes decreased and ceased altogether in 1985.
Only to resume after about 20 years of calm in 2005.
So this is not the first time that the Phlegraean Fields have been affected by an increase in earthquakes that then completely stopped, only to resume again.
It has already happened in 1984 and 2005.
And that is what could happen today, or at least it is hoped, although the increase in earthquakes and especially bradyseism is worrying the resident population and the relevant bodies.
Who fear that a worse eruption could occur than the one that completely buried the cities of Pompeii, Oplonti, Boscoreale and Stabia during the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD. For this reason, they have been active in recent weeks organizing a large evacuation plan for the population present in the red zone of the Phlegraean Fields.
