Europe’s most active volcano erupts and flights cancelled as ash spewed onto airport
Planes were grounded and an airport shut last night after Mount Etna erupted.
Europe’s most active volcano was spewing a huge dark cloud into the sky on Sunday, raining ash down on Catania, eastern Sicily’s largest city, and forcing a suspension of flights at the city’s airport.
No injuries have been reported following the blast, which caused a great plume of molten liquid to fire out of the mountain. Ash was seen raining down and covering cars near the volcano.
Italy’s National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology said that ash had fallen on Catania and at least one town on Mount Etna’s inhabited slopes.
People in the towns of Adrano and Biancavilla reported hearing loud booms emanating from the volcano on Sunday, the Italian news agency ANSA said.
A video shared on social media shows someone writing ‘Grazie Etna’ in the layer of ash that covered their car.
While flights have now been restored “with initial limitations”, delays are still likely to passengers travelling through the airport are urged to check the status of their flight before departing.
Departure boards from Catania Airport shows many of the flights due to arrive this morning were cancelled or diverted to Comiso Airport.
By 8am, some flights were making it to the airport’s runway, although the majority were severely delayed.
The 3,357metre high volcano, the tallest in Europe, has been known to erupt multiple times per year, though the last major blast was in 1992.
It is in a near constant state of activity, causing the nearby soils to become incredibly fertile and support acres of sprawling vineyards and orchards.
Due in part to this lush scenery and the view of the towering volcano, the region has become one of the best loved and most visited in Italy.
The eruption is the latest in a string of natural disasters that Italy has had to deal with this year.
A series of deadly floods in the northern region of Emilia Romagna has killed at least 15 people and forced another 36,000 from their homes.
Distressing footage of the aftermath of the floods has been circulating on social media, with one video showing distraught woman crying that her house “no longer exists”.
The clip shows Mirella Berardinelli, a resident of Forlì, in the Emilia Romagna region, saying that she has lost everything, including her property and her pets.
The extreme weather saw six months’ worth of rain come down in just 36 hours, causing widespread damage and cutting communities off due to the huge amount of mud and water in the streets.
