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The Vesuvius red zone () is the area designated to be quickly evacuated within a few days in the case of an eruption of
The Vesuvius red zone () is the area designated to be quickly evacuated within a few days in the case of an eruption of Mount Vesuvius
Mount Vesuvius ( ) is a Somma volcano, somma–stratovolcano located on the Gulf of Naples in Campania, Italy, about east of Naples and a short distance from the shore. It is one of several volcanoes forming the Campanian volcanic arc. Vesuv ...
. The authorities believe that they will have two weeks' warning of an imminent eruption; the questions that arise are whether the population can be evacuated in time, despite a reluctance to leave their homes; and if there be as much as two weeks' warning in reality.
As the area around Mount Vesuvius is highly urbanized, it became necessary to develop evacuation plans to be applied when the signs of a forthcoming eruption appear. A danger zone around the volcano was first identified in 2001 by the Italian ; its boundaries were then redefined in 2013 following new studies on the behaviour of Plinian eruptions
Plinian eruptions or Vesuvian eruptions are Volcano, volcanic Types of volcanic eruptions, eruptions characterized by their similarity to the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD, which destroyed the ancient Roman cities of Herculaneum and Pompei ...
.
The zone is composed by two subzones, called red zone 1 and 2. The former is the most dangerous area in the case of an eruption, being at greatest risk from pyroclastic flows
A pyroclastic flow (also known as a pyroclastic density current or a pyroclastic cloud) is a fast-moving current of hot gas and volcanic matter (collectively known as tephra) that flows along the ground away from a volcano at average speeds of b ...
. The red zone 2 will be subjected to falling ash and lapilli
Lapilli (: lapillus) is a size classification of tephra, which is material that falls out of the air during a volcanic eruption or during some meteorite impacts. ''Lapilli'' is Latin for "little stones".
By definition lapilli range from in dia ...
, whose intensity will depend on the intensity and direction of the winds at the time.
Mount Vesuvius is continuously kept under surveillance by the Vesuvius Observatory
The Vesuvius Observatory () is the surveillance centre for monitoring the three volcanic areas of Campania, Italy: Mount Vesuvius, the Phlegrean Fields and Ischia. Founded in 1841 on the slopes of Mount Vesuvius by Ferdinand II of Bourbon, Ki ...
of the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology
The National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (, INGV) is a research institute for geophysics
Geophysics () is a subject of natural science concerned with the physical processes and Physical property, properties of Earth and its surround ...
. When an appointed set of geologic activities occurs, an eruption warning is issued and the evacuation procedure begins. It has been estimated that 72 hours are needed to complete the evacuation: 12 hours to organize it, 48 hours to transfer all the people outside the red zone and 12 hours are kept as a safety margin for unexpected events.
List of comunes involved
The red zone comprises 25comunes
A (; : , ) is an administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions () and provinces (). The can also have the title of ().
Formed ac ...
and part of the city of Naples
Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...
, with about 800,000 residents to be evacuated.
In the case of an eruption, the evacuated people will be transferred to and hosted in 19 Italian regions
The regions of Italy () are the first-level administrative divisions of the Italian Republic, constituting its second NUTS administrative level. There are twenty regions, five of which are autonomous regions with special status. Under the Con ...
(Campania
Campania is an administrative Regions of Italy, region of Italy located in Southern Italy; most of it is in the south-western portion of the Italian Peninsula (with the Tyrrhenian Sea to its west), but it also includes the small Phlegraean Islan ...
being excluded), according to their comune of origin.
See also
*Emergency evacuation
Emergency evacuation is an immediate egress or escape of people away from an area that contains an imminent threat, an ongoing threat or a hazard to lives or property.
Examples range from the small-scale evacuation of a building due to a storm ...
* Emergency management
Emergency management (also Disaster management) is a science and a system charged with creating the framework within which communities reduce vulnerability to hazards and cope with disasters. Emergency management, despite its name, does not actu ...
* Vesuvius National Park
Vesuvius National Park () is an Italian national park centered on the active volcano Vesuvius, southeast from Naples. The park was founded on June 5, 1995, and covers an area of around 135 square kilometers all located within the Province of Nap ...
* Pompeii
Pompeii ( ; ) was a city in what is now the municipality of Pompei, near Naples, in the Campania region of Italy. Along with Herculaneum, Stabiae, and Villa Boscoreale, many surrounding villas, the city was buried under of volcanic ash and p ...
and Herculaneum
Herculaneum is an ancient Rome, ancient Roman town located in the modern-day ''comune'' of Ercolano, Campania, Italy. Herculaneum was buried under a massive pyroclastic flow in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD.
Like the nearby city of ...
* Prediction of volcanic activity
Prediction of volcanic activity, and volcanic eruption forecasting, is an interdisciplinary monitoring and research effort to predict the time and severity of a volcano's eruption. Of particular importance is the prediction of hazardous eruptions ...
* Phlegraean Fields red zone
The Phlegraean Fields red zone () is the area at greatest volcanic risk in the Phlegraean Fields, in Italy.
The Phlegraean Fields is an area of volcanic calderas west of the city of Naples. It has existed for about 300,000 years, and about 39,000 ...
References
External links
* {{cite web, url=https://www.protezionecivile.gov.it/jcms/en/view_dossier.wp?contentId=DOS37087, title=Update of the National Emergency Plan for Vesuvius, publisher=Protezione Civile
The (Civil Protection), officially (Civil Protection Department), is the national body in Italy that deals with the prediction, prevention and management of emergency events. It was established in 1992 by , which was updated in 2012, and it is ...
Mount Vesuvius
Emergency management