Overlooking the erupting volcano Etna, thick smoke formed a plume of smoke more than 4,000 meters high, Catania, Italy. On August 9, a violent eruption of Mount Etna lasted for 5 and a half hours. The magma flow spread along the southeast and southwest directions, causing no building damage or casualties for the time being. Large areas of volcanic ash dispersed inconvenience to local residents, and some flights were delayed due to runway clearance at surrounding airports. Mount Etna is the highest and most active volcano in Europe, with more than 200 eruptions so far in 1998.
After a brief episode of ash emissions from the NE crater on 4 August, the volcano continued to be calm until yesterday, when first signs of a reawakening appeared in form of intermittent strombolian explosions at the New SE crater, along with fluctuating tremor with peaks reaching moderate values.
After little more than a week, another lava fountaining episode or paroxysm occurred from the New SE crater early this morning.
This activity gradually picked up late at night and peaked after midnight and reached lava fountaining in the early hours around 3 am local time. Again, a tall eruption column rose several kilometers from the summit of Etna and spread into a plume that drifted east. At least two lava flows were produced as well: one towards the SW "as usual", another one down the SE flank into the upper Valle del Bove.
The lava fountains might not have reached the same intensity as during the exceptionally violent preceding 31 July-1 Aug paroxysm, but the volcano greeted people living around the mountain with a series of particularly strong explosions of large bursting lava bubbles from the crater that generated shock waves that rattled windows and doors in more than 15 distance and kept many people awake to watch the mesmerizing show from the volcano.
As long as these paroxysmal eruptions, or eruptive phases, now the 53rd in a row since February this year, continue from the New SE crater in the summit area, they pose no danger to the surroundings, only great annoyance with the frequent ash and lapilli fall deposits in varying sectors, but most frequently the eastern ones affected where people almost constantly need to clean roofs and surfaces including roads from the black volcanic ash.
