A string of volcanic tremors raises fears of mass evacuations in Italy

By GIADA ZAMPANO
Associated Press

ROME (AP) — Hundreds of small tremors have shaken a densely populated volcanic area west of the Italian city of Naples in recent weeks, pushing the government to quickly redraft mass evacuation plans, even though experts don’t see an imminent risk of eruption. On Monday an earthquake with a magnitude of 4.0 hit the region, which is home to a caldera, a cauldron-shaped depression left behind by the eruption of a very large volcano. The one in Campi Flegri is the largest in Europe and a new explosion would put half a million inhabitants at risk. Experts at Italy’s institute for volcanology say the tremors could intensify, but that doesn’t mean a greater risk of a new eruption.