Press
The recent earthquake has made it clear to the residents of the Phlegraean Fields how important functioning escape routes are. But the government is blocking necessary funds.
Pozzuoli – The swarm earthquake at the super volcano of the Phlegraean Fields in southern Italy is history. There were over 400 tremors, the strongest on Monday night had a magnitude of 4.4 and was thus the strongest earthquake ever recorded in the huge caldera around the port city of Pozzuoli. Clean-up work is underway, hundreds of buildings are being checked for damage, but dozens of families are still unable to return to their houses that are in danger of collapsing. In the night to Friday (May 24th) at 1.44 a.m. there was another 1.9 magnitude tremor.
Escape routes from supervolcano are dilapidated – residents in Italy angry: “Nobody is sending anyone”
In addition to the rapid rehabilitation of buildings at risk, the question of escape routes is a controversial topic. But they are dilapidated, as one example shows: a sinkhole has formed under a street, and a hole in the pavement indicates a larger cavity. Via Pergolesi has been closed. But right next to it is a high retaining wall, on which houses stand. The police closed the street to traffic. In the immediate vicinity, an alley had already been covered by falling rubble. “Nobody is sending anyone over,” criticizes one resident.
Earthquake at super volcano: Suddenly a hole opens in the road, railway lines paralyzed, ferries run aground
In an emergency, such as a volcanic eruption, the evacuation routes would lead through tunnels. But a volcanic eruption is accompanied by violent quakes. The tunnel on the motorway to Naples at the Solfatara crater had to be checked for damage. The quake also showed that the road network would not be able to cope with the onslaught in a major crisis situation. There was complete chaos when people tried to flee in their cars on Monday, as a picture from a Facebook user shows.
The quake also showed that the rail infrastructure is vulnerable to earthquakes. Due to a damage to the overhead line, rail traffic to Naples and the north is still interrupted.
But the escape by ship, which is possible in the port city of Pozzuoli, would also be very difficult: Due to the ongoing rise of the ground in and around Pozzuoli by almost five meters since 1950, the ferries are having increasing problems docking at the pier in Pozzuoli. According to the commander of the port authority in Pozzuoli, Edoardo Russo, pozzuolinews24 asked for a meeting with the Prefect of Naples. The harbor basin urgently needs to be dredged. One million passengers with 300,000 vehicles use the ferries that leave from Pozzuoli every year to get to the islands of Procida and Ischia.
Trucks and cars have difficulty getting off the ferries
“The embarkation and disembarkation procedures for ferries have become very lengthy and complicated, and buses and trucks have already been stranded,” said Russo. The shallows at the Emporio quay have become a “serious threat to ships carrying out maneuvers in the port, especially on days with low tide and strong winds.”
Since the beginning of the year, two ferries have run aground, but the accidents were without damage. Even cars are now having problems negotiating the height difference between the ferry and the quay. Russo stresses that “there is no rapid plan for organizing connections to the islands in the event of volcanic and seismic emergencies and that this could lead to disruptions in emergency management.” An exercise on April 22 clearly showed this.
However, a bitter dispute has broken out over the construction of escape routes and the financing of the renovation of houses at risk of earthquakes between the right-wing government in Rome, Giorgia Meloni’s civil protection minister Nello Musumeci from Meloni’s post-fascist Fratelli D’Ítalia (Brothers of Italy) party, and the regional government of Campania, which is led by the center-left democrat Vincenzo De Luca.
Right-wing government in Rome blocks vital funds for emergency reconstruction at supervolcano
The means for creating the escape routes in the Phlegraean Fields are, according to pozzuolinews24.it included in the development program of the Campania region, which the government in Rome has not yet approved. A total of six billion euros are involved, of which 500 million euros are for protective measures in the super volcano. The most important works to be carried out involve a transfer car park and the expansion of an intersection as well as the expansion of the coastal road. The residents are also demanding an earthquake bonus so that they can rebuild their houses to protect them from severe tremors.
However, Musumeci caused horror at a press conference in Rome when he said: “Those who chose to live in the Phlegraean Fields region knew that they were living in a difficult area that entailed risks.” He continued: “It is the over-settlement of the territory that should have been prevented in the past and is now a problem for a rapid evacuation.”
Civil Protection Minister blames residents for the crisis – opposition politicians are appalled
However, he fails to mention that in 1961 the state itself built a new air force academy in Pozzuoli on a dormant volcano. In addition, after the war, the current Maradona Stadium of SSC Napoli with its 54,726 seats, which had already been damaged by the earthquakes, and a horse racing track were built in the danger zone, where large concerts are regularly held.
Even the US Navy built a recreation center right in one of the craters of the supervolcano, so you can hardly blame private individuals for being born and living in the region. Nevertheless, Musumeci promised: “We are working with the prefecture, the municipalities and the region to define an evacuation plan that will remain on the shelf but must be drawn up and implemented immediately if necessary.”
Hospital only treats emergencies in order to have capacity for emergencies
“We find Musumeci’s behavior towards the citizens of the Phlegraean Fields disrespectful,” countered Green MP Francesco Emilio Borrelli, who comes from Naples. “It is shameful to blame the Phlegraean citizens for being born in the south.” One of the MP’s signs also read: “We need the earthquake bonus, not the chatter.”
The mayor of Pozzuoli’s neighbouring municipality of Bacoli, Josi Della Ragione, was reportedly Ansa even more clearly: “Let those in Rome know that the Phlegraean Fields are not a land of illegal, irresponsible and reckless people.” And: “We do not accept alms to run away.” Then he becomes sentimental: “We were born here. This is where we want to live. In the most beautiful country in the world. And we have the inviolable right to do so safely.”
Meanwhile, the Santa Maria Hospital in Pozzuoli has begun to discharge patients and only admit emergency cases. “Out of 208 beds, around seventy remain, only for emergencies and for cancer patients, which is guaranteed in any case,” said Mario Iervolino, General Director of the hospital in The RepublicThe remaining beds are kept free for crisis situations.
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