Italy’s Civil Protection Minister Nello Musumeci said that it may be necessary to evacuate tens of thousands of people living near an increasingly active super volcano. Campi Flegrei super volcano, which is larger than Vesuvius that wiped out Pompeii in 79 AD, has seen 1,100 earthquakes in the last month including a 4.0 magnitude quake this past Monday and a 4.2 last week. In addition, the ground in the area is rising by about by 1.5 cm a month which in itself is a cause for concern to local buildings. While volcanologists say there is no threat of an imminent eruption, conditions are similar to a rise in activity in the 1980’s which led to the temporary evacuation of 40,000 people. Campi Flegrei, which lies about 20 kilometers west of Naples, Italy, has multiple towns and villages with a total population of about 500,000.
