The eruption of Etna, which has gradually lost its intensity, has caused considerable disruption due to the fallout of volcanic ash on nearby localities.
An update from the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology, the Etna Observatory, states that “in the images from the video surveillance network INGV-OEit is possible to observe the gradual decrease of the lava fountain.
The volcano produced an eruptive cloud which, in its most intense phase, reached a height of about 10 km above sea level and dispersed towards the east and southeast.
Fallouts of pyroclastic materials and ash have been reported in the localities of Fleri, Fornazzo, Santa Venerina, Stazzo, and Torre Archirafi in particular.
A very active phase started at the beginning of July
This Sunday, Etna, the highest active volcano in Europe, experienced a spectacular paroxysmal phase, the fifth since July 4: the Voragine crater produced extremely high lava fountains as shown in this tweet from a Sicilian account.
Air traffic disrupted
Passengers at Catania airport have also suffered several inconveniences, in particular numerous flight delays this Sunday. SAC, the airport management company, had to close part of the runways and limit the number of flights to only 6 per hour.
This is not the first time that the airport has had to deal with the volcano’s “bad mood”. In August 2023, lava activity from the south-eastern crater produced a thick cloud of ash that fell on Catania and the airport’s runways, causing flight cancellations and delays.