The Italian government is planning a possible mass evacuation of tens of thousands of people living around the Campi Flegrei supervolcano near Naples, officials said on Thursday, Reuters reported.

The new measures, which include a plan to test the strength of buildings in the area after months of repeated earthquakes, will be discussed at a cabinet meeting, the government said in a statement.

Campi Phlegrei, or Phlegrean Fields from the Greek word meaning “burning”, located about 20 kilometers from Naples, is an area with several towns and villages, including Pozzuoli, Agnano and Bacoli, with a total population of over 500 000 inhabitants.

The caldera is studded with 24 craters and is a much larger volcano than nearby Mount Vesuvius, which destroyed the ancient Roman city of Pompeii in AD 79.

In the past month alone, more than 1,100 earthquakes have struck here, including a 4.0 earthquake last month and a 4.2 earthquake last week — the area’s strongest in four decades.

Experts say the increase in seismic activity is likely related to a phenomenon known as bradyseism, a slow rocking of the Earth’s crust in volcanic regions caused by the filling or emptying of underground magma chambers.

There is no immediate threat of an eruption, most volcanologists say, but given that the ground level is currently rising by 1.5 cm per month, there are concerns about the impact on local buildings.

Civil Protection Minister Nello Musumeci said this week that evacuations would only be initiated in the case of “extreme necessity”.

The government is also expected to direct more resources to local civil defense agencies so they can respond quickly in emergencies and fund a communication campaign to raise public awareness, Musumechi said.

Local media reported that a group of hospitals in the area will begin evacuation testing on Friday to make sure they are ready to withstand stronger earthquakes or eruptions.

The last time Campi Flegrei experienced a similar increase in the number of earthquakes was in the 1980s, when around 40,000 people were temporarily evacuated from Pozzuoli.

The last significant eruption occurred in 1538. One of the largest eruptions occurred 39,000 years ago and may have led to the extinction of the Neanderthals, researchers say. Magma from this explosion was found in Greenland, about 4,500 km away.