ROME (AP) – A particularly spectacular explosion of Italy’s Etna volcano on Sunday threw a towering cloud of ash and lava rock into Sicilian villages, the latest in a series of explosions in mid-February.
Italy’s National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology, INGV, said the strong explosion at 2 a.m. was the 10th largest explosion since Feb. 16, when Europe’s most active volcano began giving an impressive demonstration of the firepower of nature, coloring the night sky in shocking shades of orange. and red.
Growing tremors shook the mountain throughout the night. Ash and small lava stones rained on Sunday morning on eight villages on Mount Etna, as lava flowed slowly from the southeastern crater on an uninhabited side, as it has done for the past three weeks, the institute said.
The ash and lava column reached a height of 10,000 meters on Sunday, according to scientists who monitor volcanic activity with specialized instruments from an observatory at Mount Etna in eastern Sicily.
The locals swept ash and lava stones from the front steps and balconies. They covered the outdoor parked cars with carpets, blankets and cardboard sheets to make cleaning easier after each explosion. The winds helped transport the ash east, INGV said.
No serious injuries or damage were reported after the recent explosions. Geologically active, Etna occasionally becomes particularly noisy and explosive as it has been lately.
By mid-morning, the latest manifestation of Etna’s activity had slowed somewhat as lava flowed, although the volcano was still swelling “weak ash emissions” from the southeastern crater. A few hours later, volcanic tremors resumed, INGV said in a statement.
INGV scientists say there is no way to predict when this current round of particularly robust volcanic activity could disappear.