The statement made by the head of the Civil Protection, Fabio Ciciliano, yesterday evening during the public meeting dedicated to the bradyseismic crisis has sparked a hornet's nest of controversy.
Ciciliano addressed a citizen's concern about what measures to take in the event of a magnitude five earthquake.
The official's response did not leave the audience indifferent. "The fifth-degree shock? Buildings are falling and I'm counting the dead," Ciciliano said, highlighting the serious risk that such a shock could pose to the safety of the population and structures.
Many on social media have expressed disappointment at Ciciliano's words and some have made plans to meet next Friday in Naples for the City Council.
The city and metropolitan councilor of Naples of the Italian Left Rosario Andreozzi, in asking the mayor Manfredi to "compel the government to quickly find the funds and ways to make up for the delays of the past", also urges the administration to make "all possible efforts to implement extraordinary and courageous measures, because these statements are dangerous and serious and cause panic in people, which is one of the most insidious enemies in contexts like these.
We do not intend to count the dead”. Ciciliano’s incriminating sentence, pronounced about halfway through a heated assembly within a broader response, did not immediately provoke any reaction: the meeting went on, with questions from citizens and answers from those – mayors, representatives of the Civil Protection and the INGV – who had gone to Pozzuoli to reassure the people, in a particularly active and stressful bradyseismic phase, with medium-intensity tremors every day (even today four of magnitude greater than 3).
Avs MP Francesco Emilio Borrelli, who was present at the meeting, today declared: “I am sure that the head of Civil Protection did not want to mock or terrorize the inhabitants of Campi Flegrei. People's legitimate fears must be understood, not mocked or exacerbated. For this reason, we invite him to clarify his thoughts better. The minister and the Government are already totally absent, let's try to avoid the technical part from further worsening the situation of collective stress”.
Borrelli published the video with the incriminating phrase on his Facebook profile, which in the evening collected over 450 comments, almost all of them disapproving. The protest in fact mounted especially on social media, where Manuel Ruggiero, a doctor at 118 and president of the association Nessuno tocchi Ippocrate, committed to denouncing cases of medical malpractice, also expressed his “indignation”: “You dropped a bomb in the psyche of the people who live in Pozzuoli, resign” said the emergency doctor, addressing Ciciliano.
Very hard, then, the position taken by the industrialists and builders of Naples, with the presidents of the respective associations, Costanzo Jannotti Pecci and Angelo Lancellotti, who speak of declarations "of an absolute gravity" that require "an immediate clarification. If, in fact, a possible increase in the magnitude levels of the seismic shocks in progress in the area can cause destruction and deaths, it is unacceptable that an emergency plan has not been defined, to safeguard the lives of the people in the potentially dangerous area".
Article published on 19 February 2025 - 21:17
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Ciciliano's words seem exaggerated and create panic among people, but we should also consider the seriousness of the current situation. It is important that there are clear measures, otherwise people do not feel safe.