A lava fountain burst out of Mount Etna in Sicily on Thursday, sending a glowing burst of orange out of a crater and down its flank.
Darkish ash from the eruption fell on cities on the foot of the volcano, and residents had been seen in video footage sweeping a thick layer of mud off streets and sidewalks.
Earlier this week, exercise additionally intensified at Stromboli, a volcano close by within the Aeolian Islands, with big clouds of ash and particles falling into the sea.
The 2 volcanoes are energetic and frequently erupt, however they’re experiencing a very excessive degree of exercise, stated Claudio Peri, an inspector with Sicily’s firefighters.
Marco Neri, an Italian volcanologist, stated that the crater from which the lava fountain burst out of Etna had been dormant for about 4 years however started erupting about two weeks in the past, culminating within the explosion on Thursday.
He added that the cloud of ash had reached practically 15,000 ft, with winds then sending the plume over surrounding cities.
The mayor of the Sicilian port metropolis of Catania, Enrico Trantino, on Friday banned the driving of bikes there for 2 days due to the dangers associated to the presence of ash, and he set a pace restrict of about 20 miles an hour for vehicles.
The runway on the Catania airport grew to become unusable on Friday due to the volcanic ash, the airport posted on social media, including that arrivals and departures had been suspended till no less than the afternoon.
Whereas Mr. Peri, the firefighter inspector, stated that officers had issued a degree of excessive alert for the Stromboli volcano, not one of the eruptions posed a direct risk to residents.
“It’s a spectacle,” he stated, “nevertheless it doesn’t create issues.”