Europe’s highest active volcano has spit out lava for three weeks – and now it rains rocks and ash in the villages below

Europe’s highest active volcano has spit out lava for three weeks – and now it rains rocks and ash in the villages below

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  • Mount Etna, the highest active volcano in Europe, unleashed its tenth big explosion in the past three weeks on March 7.
  • The eruption caused lava rocks and ash to fall on the silicon towns located on its slopes.
  • The governor of Sicily, Nello Musumeci, declared a state of emergency in the most affected villages.

Italy’s famous active volcano, Etna, has been spewing lava for more than three weeks. On Sunday, March 7, the mountain of fire on the east coast of Sicily unleashed its tenth big explosion of the season since February 16. Only this time, it also rained ash and small lava rocks in the neighboring city.

Almost 3,324 meters above sea level, Etna is the highest active volcano in Europe. According to the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology of Italy (INGV), the giant exploded at approximately 2 am local time, pushing the ash column and lava to a height of 10,000 meters.

The lava below has not changed direction and continues to flow from the southeast crater – down the side of the volcano that is home to no residents. “This activity is still ongoing and INGV is constantly monitoring its development,” said the agency in a statement.

Europe's highest active volcano has spit out lava for three weeks - and now it rains rocks and ash in the villages below
Roads covered with volcanic ash after the eruption of Mount Etna on March 7Il Mondo dei Terremoti / Twitter

However, the explosion resulted in ash and small lava rocks, causing damage to eight villages along the slopes of Etna. The governor of Sicily, Nello Musumeci, declared a state of crisis in the most affected regions, according to a local media.
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One of these regions is Giarre, where the photos show streets covered with ash and lava stones that broke the windows. According to Musumeci, new vehicles will be brought in to help clear the roads.

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The calm before the storm
There is nothing new about Etna spewing volcanic ash, molten rocks and lava. On this day, in 1669, an eruption in Mount Etna killed 20,000 people.

However, this time, something is different. According to Marco Neri of INGV, Etna’s most recent explosions were “the most violent in the young history of the Southeast crater”.

Europe's highest active volcano has spit out lava for three weeks - and now it rains rocks and ash in the villages below
A glowing column of volcanic fumes spotted over Italy using data from the VIIRS band day-night from the Joint Polar Satellite System and Landsat data from the US Geological Survey on February 23


As long as the eruptions remain at current intensity and the lava comes from the summit, not from the sides of the volcano, the risk to neighboring communities is small. But history shows that periods of intense activity are almost always followed by lateral eruptions that open mouths on the volcano’s flank – sometimes at low elevations.

“This means that there is a concrete possibility that lava could directly affect an urbanized area, as has happened several times in the past,” said Neri. In 1983, engineers used dynamite to divert lava from homes. And in 1992, the army had to build an earth wall to protect one of the villages on the slopes of Etna.


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