The area around Vesuvius received its first warning sign that the mountain was perhaps reawakening when a massive earthquake struck on the 5th of February 62 A.D. The quake measured 7.5 on the Richter scale and devastated the surrounding towns; even parts of Naples, 20 miles away, were damaged. At Pompeii, few buildings escaped damage. Temples, houses, and parts of the thick city walls collapsed, fires ravaged sections of the town, and even sheep in the surrounding countryside died from the release of poisonous gases. The death toll was likely in the thousands rather than the hundreds. The water supply to the town was also severely affected with damage to aqueducts and underground pipes. The recovery process was also hampered by the collapse of the bridge over the Sarno. Things were so bad that a significant portion of the population left the town for good.

License information: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0
MPAA: PG
Go to source: https://www.commonlit.org/texts/pompeii