POZZUOLI, Italy — In Greek and Roman mythology, the Campi Flegrei volcano is depicted as the opening to the underworld.

Its prehistoric eruptions blocked out the sun, turning summer into winter and covering Europe and Russia in thick volcanic ash. Now this powerful seismic giant near Naples is stirring again, shaking the ground in a way that scientists say it hasn't for centuries.

"Two of the most recent earthquakes are the strongest we've ever seen," said Giovanni Macedonio, the director of the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology in Naples. Earthquakes in March and June this year caused by the Campi Flegrei forced people "to evacuate and there are tens of families that can't return to their homes because of the damage."

Valerio Muscella for NPR /

For everyone to survive

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