Fears of a major eruption of the Stromboli volcano in Italy

Italy's volcanoes are among the most active in Europe. Now two of them have erupted. Authorities are particularly concerned about the volcano on the Mediterranean island of Stromboli.

Massive amounts of lava are pouring out of the crater and making their way into the sea, with a cloud of smoke and ash rising above it: the Stromboli volcano on the Italian Mediterranean island of the same name is not going to calm down these days.

There is great concern about a violent eruption – and authorities have declared the highest level of red alert for the island north of Sicily. Meanwhile, Mount Etna in Sicily is active again.

Stromboli is a popular tourist destination.

On the island of Stromboli, authorities have called on residents to closely monitor the situation and follow all civil defense instructions. Previously, the Italian Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (IGNV) had detected a sudden increase in seismic activity.

Only a few hundred people live on the island, which belongs to the Aeolian Islands group. However, many tourists travel there by sea from the mainland or from Sicily to see the volcano or even climb it.

Catania airport closed for hours

Mount Etna erupted about 200 kilometers away on the larger island of Sicily. A shower of ash fell on the nearby city of Catania, causing the airport there to ban takeoffs and landings for several hours. Planes and the runway were covered in ash particles.

In other towns, there was gray-black dust on streets and houses. Ash also caused traffic disruption in the center of Catania.

Mount Etna continued to spew lava fountains into the night. At times, a plume of lava rose nearly five kilometers above the volcano. The second highest alert level in the region was orange. According to IGNV, Etna has slowly calmed down again.

Mount Etna, at about 3,350 metres, is the highest active volcano in Europe. The exact height changes frequently due to eruptions and volcanic cones. Stromboli, at 920 metres above sea level and about 3,000 metres high when measured from the sea floor, is one of the most active volcanoes in Europe, according to INGV.