Italy's Mount Etna Erupting Spectacularly

  • 10 years ago
One of the world’s most active volcanoes, Mount Etna recently erupted in Italy.

One of the world’s most active volcanoes, Mount Etna recently erupted in Italy. Footage of the eruption shows an orange colored landscape and billowing clouds of smoke heading towards the sky.

On Sunday night, lava flowed from the southern crater of the volcano. Reportedly, locals heard loud explosions along with the eruptions.

Fortunately no injuries have been reported at this time, but the local airport in Catania was forced to close air space corridors temporarily to avoid the dangerous ash clouds.

Mount Etna is described as ‘Europe's tallest active volcano’. The composite volcano has a long history when it comes to eruptions.

Given that Mount Etna is surrounded by numerous towns and villages, local officials have previously used concrete dams, ditches and explosives to control and direct lava flows to keep them away from residences and people.

An active volcano with many eruptions over the years, the last major incident reportedly occurred in 1992. Mount Etna was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site last summer.

The site is deemed a national park in Italy, complete with hiking trails and refuges.