Etna volcano eruption – closes the airport

Smoke billows from the vent of the volcano and due to bad weather, the volcanic eruption cannot be monitored closely, but is mainly assessed via instruments at the Etna Observatory, which is charged with monitoring the volcano.

A gradual increase in volcanic seismic activity from the volcano has been measured recently. Earlier this spring, Etna began spewing ash and smoke, after several months of relative calm. Until then Catania Airport had to be closed.

No one has been reported injured.

Etna, the highest volcano in Europe at 3,324 meters, has been active for the past 500,000 years. It is located on the east coast of Sicily and can be seen, for example, from the heavily touristed city of Taormina or the city of Catania.

Relatively few died

It can be confusing to look up information on the number of volcanic eruptions because there are different ways to measure it.

For example, some identify smaller episodes that may last only a few hours as individual outbreaks, while others only count longer episodes as outbreaks. This can cause the number of outbreaks to vary greatly depending on which organization you request.

The most powerful known eruption occurred in 1669. Then several villages and towns were destroyed. Since 1998, there have been about 200 eruptions.

However, relatively few perished in Etna’s volcanic eruptions.

– It might be because they’ve been very active for so long, so you know you can’t live near the top. In addition, there is usually no rapid, massive eruption and then you have time to get out of there, said volcanologist Bjorn Lund. In an interview with svt.