Mount Etna has erupted, sending a kilometres-high plume of ash into the sky and sending tourists fleeing from the popular World Heritage area.
Italy’s National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology said the eruption began around 3.50am local time (2.50am BST), following volcanic tremors which began around midnight local time.
The institute said eruption activity has continued since then with “increasing intensity” and was currently “almost continuous”.
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“From a seismic point of view, the values of the tremor amplitude are currently high with a tendency to increase further,” the institute said in an 11am update.
Mount Etna, known as “Mongibello” locally, is on the east coast of Sicily, between the cities of Messina and Catania.
According to the Royal Geographic Society, about 20 per cent of Sicily’s population of roughly 4.8 million people lives on the slopes of the volcano (but far from the explosive craters), because the fertile soil is ideal for growing fruit and vegetables.
Less than a hundred people live within 5km (3 miles) of the volcano, according to the Smithsonian Institution’s Global Volcanism Programme, while just under 3,300 live within 10km of Etna. A little over a million people live within 30km of the volcano.
Etna is one of the tallest active volcanoes in Europe, although its height varies due to eruptions.
It has been nicknamed the ‘Lady of the Rings’ due to the rings it produces made of condensed water vapour.
People have documented eruptions on Etna as far back as 1500 BCE. A particularly destructive eruption in March 1669 destroyed at least 10 villages, and lava flow reached the city walls of Catania five weeks after the initial event.
The frequency of those eruptions also makes it one of the world’s most active volcanoes: in 2021, according to the Weather Channel, it erupted 11 times in just three weeks.
The volcano had two major eruptions last year, with Catania Airport forced to close both times due to the volume of ash spewed into the air.
It has erupted several times this year, including in February when thousands of tourists flocked to Etna to see the spectacle. Dozens of people who were not wearing appropriate mountain gear went missing as unprepared tourists clamoured for a glimpse of the lava flows, the Guardian reported.
