Mount Etna, Europe's most active volcano, has erupted again revealing its fury once more with a rain of ash on neighboring towns.
Mount Etna, one of the most active volcanoes in the world, erupted on November 23. The nearby town of Taormina was affected with the ash from the volcano. Even though the ash did not cause any big issues for the people of the nearby areas, local authorities closed a freeway as a precautionary measure. Nearby air space has also been shut down but Catania airport is operating as usual. The mountain also erupted on October 26, due to which authorities had to close down certain air corridors.
The mountain is the highest in Italy and is located on the east coast of Sicily. Mount Etna is already known as the country's largest active stratovolcano and people living in the surrounding areas are used to the occasional eruption and ash rain from the mountain. Mount Etna stands at 10,992 feet high and its total circumference is 140 kilometers.
From January 2011 to February 2012, scientists found that the summit craters of Mount Etna had high activity. Frequent eruptions during this time, and with ash acting as an obstacle, authorities were forced to shut down the Catania airport on several occasions. An eruption in July 2011 also endangered the Sapienza Refuge, which is one of the key tourist attractions on the volcano. Authorities were successful in diverting the lava flow.
The last major eruption of Etna was in 1992 and two streams of lava put the nearing village of Zafferana in danger. Italian and U.S. military were prompt to divert the lava flow away from the village with the help of man-made explosions on the volcano's slopes till the eruption subsided.
Over the last two decades Mount Etna has erupted 50 times.
