Eruption of Italian super volcano Campi Flegrei could produce 100-foot tsunami, study claims

By Hannah Osborne

An underwater eruption of Italy's supervolcano, Campi Flegrei, could produce 100-foot tsunamis that could severely impact populated coastal areas like Pozzuoli and Sorrento, scientists have said.

By modeling offshore eruptions at the active volcano, which sits to the west of Naples, researchers were able to show that tsunamis could pose a risk to the region. They believe the National Emergency Plan for Campi Flegrei should be updated accordingly.

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Because of the risk Campi Flegrei poses—around 500,000 people live in the volcano's "red zone"—the Italian government has a National Emergency Plan for the event of an eruption. This plan, however, does not include the event of an eruption taking place at sea.

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However, in a worst case scenario, waves measuring 100 feet could hit the coast: "In case that there is a big explosion in the Pozzuoli Bay, our predictions suggest that tsunamis generated by such explosion would have waves hitting the coast that are as high as tens of meters," [said Martina Ulvrova, from ETH Zurich's Institute of Geophysics]. "This would largely impact highly populated coastal areas in the Pozzuoli bay with dense infrastructure including houses, railway network, restaurants, historical buildings, etc.

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