The Mount Etna volcano eruption in Sicily has spewed a huge column of smoke and ash into the sky above the Italian island.
Footage shared on social media showed people running for their lives down the mountainside of Europe’s largest and most active volcano, as a thick column of smoke intensified above them.
Italy’s National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology said in a widely reported statement that the volcano was experiencing strong strombolian explosions. This refers to a type of eruption “of growing intensity.”
“Over the past few hours, the falling of a little thin ash has been flagged in the Piano Vetore area,” the statement said.
According to the Volcanic Discovery website, prior to the eruption, there were volcanic tremors which began at around 10 pm local time and reached their peak shortly before 1 am.
The Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre in Toulouse, one of nine such centers worldwide used to monitor aviation risks, warned that a volcanic ash plume had reached an altitude of around 6,400 meters.
In addition to the visible plumes of smoke and lava, volcanoes can spew out toxic gases, which can be odorless and invisible.
According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “breathing in volcanic gases at high concentrations can cause mild symptoms, such as irritation of the eyes, and more severe symptoms, such as difficulty breathing or even death.”
Most of the effects from volcanic particles and gases are short term, according to the US CDC, causing impacts such as irritation to the eyes and airways, vomiting, dizziness, headaches, difficulty breathing, and visual disturbances.
Longer exposure to volcanic gases and ash has been linked to the development of other lung conditions and respiratory disorders, the CDC states, adding: “Acute exposures to certain volcanic gases can also lead to unconsciousness within minutes and eventually death.”
While its height fluctuates as a result of frequent eruptions, which transform the shape of its craters, Italy’s National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology said in September that Etna’s Voragine crater had reached a height of 3,403 meters above sea level on its eastern rim.
Previously, Etna’s South East Crater had been the tallest since August 2021 after overtaking an earlier record held by the North East Crater since the 1970s, according to the Italian news agency Ansa.
Recently, as reported by Greek Reporter, scientists have warned that Mount Etna is slipping eastwards into the sea and could trigger a catastrophic tsunami.
Scientists are concerned the slow movements that have been measured on Mount Etna’s southeastern flank could escalate and result in part of it collapsing into the Mediterranean.
