Europe

• Travel Summary
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• Health
• Natural disasters
• General
 

Natural disasters

Volcanoes

There continues to be low-intensity volcanic activity on the island of Stromboli.  Further information on Stromboli and other volcanoes around the world can be found at:  http://www.stromboli.net.

Earthquakes

Many parts of Italy lie on a major seismic fault line.  Minor tremors and earthquakes are almost a daily occurrence.

L'Aquila, in the Abruzzo Region (58 Kilometres north east of Rome) was hit by an earthquake measuring 6.3 on the Richter scale at about 03.30 local time on Monday 6 April 2009.  The earthquake has caused widespread damage to buildings in the area and latest reports state that over 260 people have died and up to 28,000 are homeless.  The Italian emergency services and Civil Protection Agency are working flat out to assist people in the area.  We have been advised that there are no reports of British casualties or deaths so far, but the Embassy is continuing to monitor the situation closely.  The Italian government has asked people not to travel to L'Aquila and we would advise British nationals to stay away from the area until further notice.

Major Earthquakes on 31 October and 1 November 2002, affected the Abruzzo, Molise and Puglia regions of southern Italy.  The epicentre of the worst tremor was near Campobasso in Molise.  Further tremors in this region cannot be ruled out.

Flooding

Visitors to Venice should note that parts of Venice are liable to flooding at certain times of year, especially in late autumn and early spring.