Ashes to ashes: The locals sweep volcanic ruins after the new eruption of Mount Etna that covers their city with debris.
- The activity of Mount Etna intensified earlier today as it threw lava at an altitude of 300 meters with a subsequent ash rain.
- Residents in nearby villages, including Giarre, Fornazzo and Catania, have been left to clean up the waste
- The National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology of Catania has confirmed the resumption of activity earlier today
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Residents living in the shadow of Mount Etna have been forced to sweep volcanic ruins after a new eruption covered their city with rubble.
Etna’s activity intensified earlier today as it threw lava at 300 meters above sea level with a subsequent rain of volcanic ash that fell on nearby villages such as Giarre, Fornazzo and Catania in Sicily, Italy.
The National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology of Catania confirmed that this morning “strombolian activity” (volcanic eruptions with relatively gentle explosions) resumed.
Residents living in the shadow of Mount Etna have been forced to sweep volcanic ruins after a new eruption covered their city with rubble. In the photo: a woman sweeps volcanic ash in Fornazzo
The activity of Mount Etna has intensified today (pictured), as it threw lava at 300 meters above sea level with a rain of volcanic ash that fell on nearby villages.
For more than a week, Mount Etna has been pulling out lava, ash and volcanic rocks regularly with the nearby Catania airport temporarily closed.
Residents of nearby villages have now been allowed to clean up the debris after continued coverage of streets, cars and houses.
At 3,329 m, it is the highest active volcano in Europe and the highest peak in Italy south of the Alps.
Previous eruptions have resulted in injuries, even in 2017 10 people were injured, including a BBC news team.
The National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology of Catania has confirmed that the ‘strombolian activity’ (volcanic eruptions with relatively gentle explosions) resumed this morning (pictured)
For more than a week, Mount Etna has been pulling out lava, ash and volcanic rocks regularly with the nearby Catania airport temporarily closed. In the image: A man sweeps the ashes in the streets of Giarre
Residents of nearby villages have now been allowed to clean up the debris after continued coverage of streets, cars and houses. Pictured: Sequelae in Giarre (left) and Venerina (right)
Scientists have expressed concern that Etna is slowly slipping into the Mediterranean Sea up to 14 mm each year.
This could cause part of the volcano to collapse into the water, risking debris entering the surrounding ocean and potentially devastating waves.
The 700,000-year-old volcano is also the second most active on Earth, after Mount Kilauea in Hawaii.
Located between the African and Eurasian tectonic plates, it generates almost constant eruptions of varying degrees.
Each year it produces more than tens of millions of tons of lava and more than 7 million tons of carbon dioxide, water and sulfur dioxide.
Scientists have expressed concern that Etna (shown in today’s photo) is slowly slipping into the Mediterranean Sea up to 14 mm each year.
Residents of nearby towns and villages said earlier that it looked like it was raining stones as a blanket of ash covered the city (rubble in Giarre today before)
At 3,329 m, it is the highest active volcano in Europe and the highest peak in Italy south of the Alps. In the image: cleaning operation in Giarre
Its most serious recent eruption occurred in March 2017, when nearly a dozen people were injured.
But eruptions have been recorded since 1500 BC, with a devastating eruption in 1169 that caused an earthquake that killed approximately 15,000 people.
In 1992, lava flowing down its slope threatened Zafferana, a city of 7,000 people, in what is believed to be the largest flank eruption in 300 years.
Soldiers used controlled explosions to deflect lava flow.