generalspeaking

Location, Location, Location

"Since we cannot calculate when a serious eruption would take place, the salvation of the population is only guaranteed by a preventative evacuation of the entire area at risk, which is extremely complicated because the area is densely populated and lacks adequate escape routes."
Lucia Pappalardo, volcanologist, National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology, Italy

Casting a shadow: Half of the population of Naples is now classed as being at risk of falling ash and rocks in the event of a significant eruption. Pictured, a view of Naples shows the snow-covered Mount Vesuvius   The experts have said that in the event of a big eruption and in certain atmospheric conditions, the ash and powder could reach these places further away." "But there's no need to be alarmist. We're talking about falling powder, so it wouldn't be devastating." Domenico Annunziata, council spokesman, Naples, Italy

Well, that's all right then; ashes, not a flowing river of volcanic molten rock, setting fire to everything it touches. If that is indeed all that the city could potentially be afflicted with, should Mount Vesuvius suddenly decide to vent the fury of the Earth's molten interior. When it did suddenly erupt in 79 a.d. no one had time to react as the upheaval and the stifling smoke instantly killed all the residents of the city of Pompeii, destroying it in the process.

Almost four hundred years ago the last eruption took the lives of six thousand people. Italy is far more populous than it was in the mid-1600s, and far more people will now be vulnerable to the lethal effects of such an explosive event. A small 1944 event caused no damage. There is part of the city of three million designated a red zone, which, if sufficient time were given to react to a major eruption, would see 600,000 people evacuated in a 72-hour period. The success or failure of such an operation would hinge on pre-warning and clockwork, orderly evacuation.

Meanwhile, in the more direct shadow of the active volcano known to be capable of suddenly erupting with the power to destroy cities as it did ancient Herculaneum, the mountain itself represents home to over 700,000 people living directly on its slopes illegally as squatters. Six million people live in homes across Italy that were illegally erected reflecting state mismanagement where developers built poorly constructed homes failing to meet public building codes.

Italy's crowded cities have been expanding for decades, using land known to be unfit for housing, and those built under Vesuvius and on its picturesque slopes are certainly no exception. The small town of Terzigno outside of Naples is one of an estimated 25 towns directly within the evacuation zone. Vesuvius now represents one of the most dangerous volcanoes in the world. Dr. Pappalardo warns of the possibility of a catastrophic eruption, with unpredictable results.

Even though the Italian Parliament has more latterly passed weak laws reflecting the danger in illegal housing, growth of housing around Vesuvius continued until the recognition of an official 'red zone'. Yet the illegal housing continued to 2003, leaving local politicians to design plans just in case of a volcanic eruption, which the stunning size of the population makes difficult to plan with any level of assurance.

The absurd futility of those plans was revealed when an Italian journalist in 2010 investigated a number of evacuation routes only to discover that there was one that was on a road that did not exist, and there was also a mayor of one town who had never laid eyes on his region's plan. According to one mayor located in the red zone: "Not only are many existing plans ineffective, but many municipalities in the evacuation zone have zero plans whatsoever."

Labels: Eruptions, Evacuation, Housing, Italy, Vesuvius

posted by Pieface @ Wednesday, September 13, 2017