Impact assessment caused by bradyseism phenomena in the Campi Flegrei area

Abstract

Campi Flegrei (Italy) is among the areas with the greatest volcanic explosive risk in the world due to the dangerousness of the expected hazards, the high exposed value (about 500,000 people will be evacuated during the “alarm phase”), and the vulnerability of the urban settlements under the effect of the volcanic phenomena. The last two dramatic bradyseism phases occurred in 1969–1972 and 1982–1984 when Pozzuoli town was affected by rapid ground inflation, which brought an overall higher level of about 3.5 m and caused numerous earthquakes (M ≤ 4.2), with severe damage to buildings. During 1984, the seismicity was intense, with 33 events with 0.5 < M ≤ 3 and six with 3