Mt Etna started erupting late Tuesday, throwing volcanic dust and ash into the atmosphere and the surroundings without endangering life.
Europe’s largest active volcano Mt Etna on the east coast of Italy in Sicily is in an almost constant state of eruption for almost half a million year, which can be extremely dangerous at times but peaceful most of the time. On Tuesday, Etna started spewing volcanic ash into the surroundings, down the mountain, threatening life but without causing danger. Unlike explosive eruptions, Tuesday’s eruption only ignited the darkness, making visible the entire landscape.
Violent and extremely hazardous eruptions have taken place earlier causing mammoth damage to man and property. Etna is used to explosive and effusive eruptions alternately threatening people living on its slopes and in the surrounding areas. Amidst the dangers it poses, its fertile volcanic soils support agriculture, particularly vineyards and orchards flourish across its lower slopes and the Plain of Catania to the south.
Volcanoes usually occur on plate boundaries. The entire Pacific rim associates itself with volcanoes. Etna, Stromboli, Vesuvious form a chain of volcanoes in the Mediterranean with a devastating history.
Etna’s eruptive history is itself a maze of explosions and peaceful spewing, making it one of the most active volcanoes on earth.
Source: Reuters
