Mount Etna in Sicily has erupted again, spewing lava and ash. At the Mediterranean airport nothing works on Monday.
Munich/Catania – Fire-red embers and massive lumps of ash make their way down the long mountain. Mount Etna on the Italian Mediterranean island of Sicily is active again, and clearly so. The volcano spat out lava and ash again during the night of Monday (August 14th). And that on a not insignificant scale.
Etna spits lava and ash: Flight operations at Catania Airport have been suspended for the time being
At night, as a result of increased volcanic activity, a lava fountain developed, which could also be observed from afar, the National Institute for Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV) announced. Strong ash fall accompanied by a darkened sky also developed. Flight operations at Catania Airport were therefore suspended until at least 8 p.m., according to a message from the airport at the foot of Mount Etna on the online platform X, formerly Twitter.
Videos on social media showed the glowing boulders being spat out of the volcano in the dark and slowly flowing down the mountain. For example, the regional online news portal Local Team published pictures of it on its social media accounts (see above). According to the INGV, a lava overflow developed particularly at the south-east crater of Mount Etna, which is now cooling down again. Because on Monday morning, according to the INGV, no more lava came out – the lava flow stopped around 3:20 a.m. Local media reported loud thunder during the night.
Etna in Sicily: It rumbles in the largest active volcano in Italy and Europe
There were initially no reports of damage or injuries from Italy. Local residents reported on the Telegram platform that ash and dust rained down locally. Videos showed airport employees working flat out to clear the runway of ash. Already early Sunday evening there was rumbling on the largest active volcano in Europe, so that the Sicilian civil defense called for special caution early on.
Extreme weather phenomena have been observed in Italy for months, accompanied by severe storms in some areas. An example: Also on Monday night (August 14), a landslide and a huge mudslide hit the northern Italian mountain village of Bardonecchia after heavy rain. There were no reports of injuries or even deaths, at least on Monday. (pm/dpa)
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