Over in California they live in fear of the San Andreas Fault wreaking havoc and causing a monster earthquake, but it’s a lesser known fact that Italy faces a similar ticking time bomb.

Recent times have seen a number of deadly and dangerous natural disasters, stemming from the fact that the country sits at the meeting point of two major tectonic plates.

Those would be the African tectonic plate pushing into the Eurasian plate, with this below from Sky:

These geological faults, or weaknesses in the Earth’s crust, extend all the way up the spine of Italy.

They are slowly pulling the crust – and the Apennine mountain range – apart…

These shifting plates move around 3 centimetres a year, but the results of this shifting has proven deadly during the past century.

Just take a look at this list of the most deadly earthquakes in recent times:

– A 6.2 magnitude tremor, which killed nearly 300 people on 4 August 2016, virtually destroyed the town of Amatrice, north of L’Aquila.

– On 6 April 2009 a 6.3 magnitude tremor hit near L’Aquila, causing around 300 deaths.

–  The Campania region, around Naples, was hit by 6.9 magnitude quake on 23 November 1980 which caused around 3,000 deaths.

– 400 people died in Sicily on 15 January 1968 when a 5.5 magnitude tremor struck.

– Around 30,000 people died when L’Aquila was struck by 6.7 magnitude quake on 13 January 1915.

– Between 75,000 and 200,000 people were killed when a 7.1 magnitude earthquake struck the Strait of Messina, between mainland Italy and Sicily, on 28 December 1908 [pictured above].  The powerful quake triggered a tsunami which caused much of the damage.

Oh yes, and then there’s those volcanoes of course. You might be familiar with Mount Vesuvius [above], whose eruption resulted in Pompeii being buried in AD 79, and authorities now estimate that around three million people may need to be evacuated if it erupts once more.

See, your Monday could be worse. Now to make it through your Halloween costume updates on Facebook…

[source:sky]