Vesuvius Risk: Operative Instruction... by Malko

“Vesuvius Risk: operative instruction …”  by MalKo

There are about seventy thousand people living around the Vesuvius of whom several thousand are foreigners who come from diverse nations and continents. One presumes they have heard of the emergency plans for the area at risk but do not clearly underhand the situation and what they should do in the event of alarm. Here is some brief information on the civil protection plans in case of an alarm.

First of all we should point out that our present knowledge does not permit us to predict how soon there will be a volcanic eruption or how violent it will be. The Vesuvius Observatory, however, with its highly sophisticated network of instruments, continuously monitors the volcanoes of Vesuvius,the Phlaegraean Fields and Ischia and is ready to launch the alarm in case of danger.

Each district in the Vesuvius area and the Phlegraean Fields is preparing emergency plans to prepare for a future reawakening of the volcanoes. At the moment, the situation is tranquil. By December 31 2015, the districts will publish civil protection plans online giving useful information for the population.

The mayor, the local authority of the civil protection department, has the duty of guaranteeing the safety of everyone, whether resident or in transit on the territory administered by him, irrespective of nationality or legal status.

It is necessary, however, for each citizen to understand both the basic organisation of the civil protection department and the levels of volcanic alert established by the scientific authorities:

Each alert level corresponds to an operative phase indicating the action to be taken. The base level is the present state. If it should pass to phase 1 Alert (yellow), people are only required to organise themselves should the danger from the volcano increase. The alert could also regress. At Phase 2 of pre-alarm (orange), those with their own transport and access to lodging outside the risk area may choose to leave.

In case of alarm (phase 3) everyone must leave red zones 1 and 2. Those without vehicles must go to the communal district meeting area. Those with their own vehicle but without lodging outside the risk area are required to go to the reception areas outside the risk zone. Both the district meeting areas and the reception areas will soon be indicated in the new civil protection plans.

Translation: by Lisa Norall