Naples and Southern Italy Threatened by Supervolcano Eruption: A 30-Meter Ash Fallout Warning

For the Swiss public television, Naples and parts of Southern Italy will be submerged under 30 meters of ash if an eruption occurs at the Campi Flegrei. The RSI (the Swiss equivalent of Italy's Rai) has produced a 42 minutes and 24 seconds report titled 'Naples, the Supervolcano Threatening Europe'. The documentary went viral on YouTube, quickly reaching almost 300,000 views. An apocalyptic scenario unfolds, with real footage mixed with computer-generated graphics. It starts with animated reconstructions showing Piazza del Plebiscito engulfed and submerged by fiery clouds, the Church of San Francesco da Paola destroyed by flames, the two equestrian statues knocked down; finally, an overall view of Naples completely submerged under a heavy layer of ash, with only the hill of San Martino spared from the disaster, resembling a post-atomic landscape. During the Swiss TV broadcast, guests in the studio alarmingly discuss the possible scenarios that could follow an eruption. On social media and YouTube, some have wondered if the tones were exaggerated for the sake of viewership. The volcanologist Patrick Allard says, 'We will see eruptive columns rising for tens of kilometers, at least up to the stratosphere. Ash will fall on Naples, even farther, there will be victims and great destruction.' But also, 'The Campi Flegrei volcano now contains so much lava and pressure that the cataclysm is inevitable, starting at the Solfatara' and then 'A threat looms over Naples, a danger that frightens Europe, some scientists believe that the Campi Flegrei were responsible for the disappearance of the Neanderthal man, 40 thousand years later there are signs of awakening, the catastrophe could occur at any moment.' Amy Donovan, a professor of Geography at the University of Cambridge, adds: 'The city should be deserted because the air would be saturated with ash, pyroclastic material, and volcanic residues of all kinds.' Furthermore, the journalist's voiceover comments: 'Naples disappears under thirty meters of volcanic material.' This is followed by an animation frame showing the city now covered by a layer of gray-red ash, with the only exception of the hill of San Martino, at Vomero.