Sicilians 'not worried' that Mount Etna is erupting as they have 'seen worse'

Mount Etna, one of the world’s most active volcanoes, belched smoke and ashes in a new eruption on Tuesday, but Italian authorities said it posed no danger to the surrounding villages. “We’ve seen worse,” the head of the INGV National Institute for Geophysics and Vulcanology in the nearby city of Catania, Stefano Branco, told Italian news agency AGI. Estimating that the eruption from Etna’s southeastern crater began late Tuesday afternoon, Branco insisted that the latest burst of activity was “not at all worrying”. Nevertheless, with small stones and ashes raining down, authorities decided to close Catania’s international airport. The emergency authorities said on their Twitter account that they were monitoring the situation closely in the three villages at the foot of the volcano – Linguaglossa, Fornazzo and Milo. Images showed a spectacular rose-coloured plume of ashes above the snow-capped summit, but the cloud had largely dissipated by nightfall, while lava flows continued to glow. At 3,324 metres, Etna is the tallest active volcano in Europe and has erupted frequently in the past 500,000 years. Here are some tweets from people in and around Sicily

BREAKING: Majestic eruption from Mount #Etna in Sicily this afternoon. pic.twitter.com/c8MDPQt0iF

— Latest in space (@latestinspace) February 16, 2021

Mount Etna, Europe’s most active volcano, is spewing ash and lava once again. A new phase of eruptions began last week shooting a column of ash into the sky. New cracks then opened up in the volcano sending lava down its flank https://t.co/he2Vn9iuH5 pic.twitter.com/xpnI7OPRul

— Massimo (@Rainmaker1973) February 16, 2021

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Mount Etna in Sicily has erupted this afternoon. #volcano #Etnapic.twitter.com/1NVCCAFycE

pic.twitter.com/sRsonyQeAW

— ∼Marietta (@MariettaDaviz) February 16, 2021

Spectacular photos of the fire fountain at Mount Etna this evening 😍 https://t.co/Yz00ecd6HA

— Oxford Volcanology (@OxfordVolc) February 16, 2021

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Mount Etna’s huge Lava Fountain https://t.co/aw0hiG2Ce5

— Phos³ 🇨🇦 | 📷, WX ⛈️⚡️🌪️, NFT’s (@_phos3) February 16, 2021

My sister sending me pics of mount Etna having a blast again 🌋 pic.twitter.com/iD6xhP3nWM

— yuki ; (@yukizerotredici) February 16, 2021

'I never saw an eruption with such a large and low crater' resident says filming the early moments of today's eruption of Mount #Etna, in Sicily. Lapilli fell along the whole shore of #Sicily South of the volcano.

Video recorded live by @DinoFico pic.twitter.com/RCtdbsqMif

— Pagliaro Lab (@helionomics) February 16, 2021

😱Mesmerizing view for the eruption of🌋Mount #Etna in #Sicily today.#BreakingNews #volcan #Italy #sunset #PancakeDay pic.twitter.com/QuOpXdJtpA

— The Only Truth (@TheOnlyTruthInc) February 16, 2021

#Etna's Southeast Crater makes spectacular lava bubbles at night, 15-16 February 2021 pic.twitter.com/dVYOxcbBSf

— Boris Behncke (@etnaboris) February 16, 2021

A friends ex who is in Sicily shared this with me. I can’t stop watching this - the glorious Mount Etna spewing fire. pic.twitter.com/brimzqVWfZ

— Antony Amourdoux (@AAmourdoux) February 16, 2021

Etna sicily show pic.twitter.com/ccXXMNNDrI

— Maria (@Maria07505740) February 16, 2021

One of my best mates lives in Sicily. She sent me these pics tonight #MountEtna Stunningly beautiful but so scary. @Tezsimp doesn't bat an eyelid when Etna erupts. pic.twitter.com/y9GkzTMVt0

— Daisy Turnip (@DaisyTurnip) February 16, 2021

Mount Etna. Right now pic.twitter.com/TTT2cJJypN

— coastandoceancollective (@CoastandoceanC) February 16, 2021