Southern Italy, and in particular Sicily, could risk being hit by a tsunami in the event of an earthquake in the Mediterranean Sea, according to a new report.
There have been tsunami in the Mediterranean at least once every 100 years and 100 years ago, in 1908, an earthquake measuring seven on the Richter scale created a giant wave which almost destroyed the southern Italian cities of Reggio Calabria and Messina, the study recalled.
The report was drawn up by Stefano Lorito of the Rome-based National Institute for Geophysics and Vulcanology and published in the latest edition of the Journal of Geophysical Research.
In his study, Lorito and his team examined all data related to the risk of earthquakes in the Mediterranean region and simulated tsunami which could be created by hypothetical earthquakes.
Were an earthquake to take place off the coast of Greece, the study said, within an hour it could create a tsunami five meters high which would hit the southeast coast of Sicily.
A similar situation could occur should a major earthquake take place off North Africa.
According to the study, a particularly violent earthquake could create a tsunami as high as 15 meters.
Aside from Italy, the other countries most at risk of being hit by tsunami in the Mediteranean were said to be Tunisia, Libya, Egypt and Greece.
