traveller1959

Vesuvius still is one of the most dangerous volcanoes on earth. There is new scientific evidence that it can erupt any time - and probably causing damage that would exceed the explosion in 79 AD.

www.physorg.com/news140269177.html

Did you feel uneasy when you looked into the crater with all the steam coming up out of the earth?

TuckH

I sure did!

I'd just finished reading the Robert Harris novel "Pompeii".

Thanks for the link...

WebVisionItaly

Luckily for travelers there are plenty of satellites taking pictures of the crater every day measuring change. If an explosion is coming they'll be some warning.

But for those living on the slopes, well it's game over.

Here's a video animation of the Last Night in 79 AD:

http://www.webvisionitaly.com/catego...p;ref_item=177

Maybe that's why Naples is such a vibrant city, alive in every sense. Certainly the volcano contributes to the authentic flavor of the area and the good life in Italy:

http://www.webvisionitaly.com/catego...p;ref_item=100

PalenQ

More damage easily since there are so many teeming towns with loads of people dotting its environs

Fra_Diavolo

The disaster would be appalling in human terms, and I certainly wouldn't want to see Pompeii buried a second time . . .

sandi_travelnut

I keep meaning to look this up but just haven't so this seems like a good crowd in which to ask; What is the name of the even more ancient volcano/crater that vesuvius' cone sticks out of? While taking the bus to the hop off point on a Pompeii/Vesuvius tour, the tour guide said that the giant crater was called xxx and was active long before the cone formed and erupted that is called Vesuvius. I do not recall ever reading about the more ancient volcano though.

Alec

'Vesuvius is a distinctive "humpbacked" mountain, consisting of a large cone (Gran Cono) partially encircled by the steep rim of a summit caldera caused by the collapse of an earlier, and originally much higher structure called Monte Somma. The Gran Cono was produced during the eruption of 79. For this reason, the volcano is also called Somma-Vesuvius or Somma-Vesuvio.'
Wiki article on Vesuvius

ParadiseLost

I recall ~1+yr ago I read that the mountain had settled 'x amount of cm' lower, meaning the pressure beneath was subsiding?
Regards, Walter

vincenzod

When Vesuvius will explode (it is a when not an if) the damage will be less than the damages that the local people made itself and to the area, once one of the most wonderful areas of the planet.


Vincenzo

traveller1959

Thank you, WebVisionItaly, for the excellent video.

I always think of Plinius' report who described the eruption but did not see the danger because he wanted not to be superstitious.

What I find striking is that so many modern houses had been built right on the slope of the Vesuvius, just to enjoy the view and completely ignoring any danger.

Those people have given up their right to complain afterwards.

TuckH

Many modern houses are built where hurricanes are frequent contemporary occurances.

Others are in known earthquake and forest fire zones.

A Vesuvius eruption might be less likely than these dangers that we see almost nightly on the tv news...

willit

traveller1959 - Why I do understand your point, I am not sure what can be done about it. Pompeii is actually quite far from Vesuvius, so anything within eg a 10km radius is potentially lethal - just look at the damage caused when Mount St Helen erupted in 1981.

I am not sure anybody believes it is possible to just abandon Naples completely "just in case". Californians still talk about "the big one" meaning the earthquake which many see as inevitable - yet nobody is suggesting abandoning the area adjacent to San Andreas fault.

Mahya2

Actually a lot of people have ben moving out of California for exactly that reason.

We have our own massive volcano being watched right here in the states, and it has been rising. I think a lot of people dont realize it's a volcano...but they say if/when it goes (every 500,000 years and it's due) half the country will be taken out.

Yellowstone.

JBX

I've watched the Discovery Channel and seen several programs talking about Yellowstone, which apparently is a "supervolcano". Roughly every 600,000 years or so, it erupts. And according to this timetable, we should have another eruption .... anywhere from now through the next couple thousands of years.

http://dsc.discovery.com/convergence...der/under.html

For those who are interested by volcanoes a good website to see what's going on is the International Volcano Research Centre >>> http://www.intlvrc.org

Mahya2

Thanks JBX,

However right now in the immediate, I'm more concerned and consumed with avoiding hurricanes.

This seems to be a very active season and they are larger and largest this year, while last year we got away with none.

I have this odd tendency to try to avoid visiting places with active volcanoes and earthquakes