Rome releases €100m for quake-hit Campi Flegrei

The Italian government has released €100 million ($115 million) in aid to tackle damage caused by last week's earthquake in the Naples area, the civil protection minister said on Tuesday, according to The Local Italy. The funding follows the magnitude 4.7 quake near Pozzuoli that injured 26 people and damaged buildings in the Campi Flegrei volcanic area, as video footage showed the aftermath.

The quake struck a region already on edge. The Campi Flegrei caldera, a sprawling volcanic area west of Naples, has been experiencing ground uplift and seismic swarms for years, a phenomenon known as bradyseism. The magnitude 4.7 event on Friday was among the strongest in recent memory, and the visible damage to buildings has revived questions about the area's preparedness for a larger event.

The €100 million package, announced by the civil protection minister, is intended to address the immediate damage. But for observers in the South, the sum is a reminder of the chronic underinvestment that leaves the region's ageing building stock exposed to natural shocks.