With regard to some articles published in recent days in the media and the press, it should be noted that since 24 August 2016, the beginning of the most important and dramatic seismic sequence since the 1980 Irpinia earthquake, the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV ) has worked constantly, ensuring the nation permanent, rapid and punctual information on the ongoing phenomenon. More than 55.000 earthquakes were located in six months, a number that usually takes 5 years.
This enormous work was carried out by the permanent and precarious staff of the Organization with a great effort, without additional resources and with true self-sacrifice: thanks to them from all of INGV.
The Director of the National Earthquake Center (CNT), Salvatore Mazza, handed in his resignation to the institution's top management bodies solely and exclusively due to family problems and will remain in office until the completion of the new selection procedure.
In the meantime, the Institute has continued and continues, 24 hours a day, to monitor our volcanoes and the earthquakes affecting the Italian territory.
The Institute remains a solid research body and is a key player in the National Civil Protection Service: it cohesively carries out its institutional tasks at the highest level of professionalism. Despite the financial distress in which it finds itself, INGV will continue to work with determination to achieve ever more advanced scientific results.