1000’s of vacationers have stormed the snowy slopes of Sicily’s Mount Etna in latest weeks, congesting roads and obstructing the paths of rescue crews, the Italian authorities stated, regardless of their efforts to maintain folks safely away from explosive lava flows.
Mount Etna commonly erupts, and it has drawn vacationers for many years. However the newest eruption, which started on Feb. 8, has drawn so many photographers, hikers and nature aficionados that it has raised a refrain of warnings and orders from native Italian officers.
Salvo Cocina, Sicily’s regional civil safety chief, in a statement Sunday described a “fixed stream” of about 1,000 folks, in addition to “wild parking on the sides of tight streets” that created an deadlock for emergency autos.
“With the darkish, the danger of falling and sinking into the snow will increase proportionally with the rise of individuals,” he stated.
“Etna is giving us a panoramic spectacle: A lava stream has reached our territory,” Mayor Fabio Mancuso of Adrano warned his city close to the foot of Etna a day earlier. “Lots of people are attempting to get nearer to admire this pure phenomenon, however this can be very harmful!”
He stated the lava colliding with snow might trigger violent explosions when the snow melts quickly, leading to high-pressure steam that may hurl rocks and lava a fantastic distance. “A mortal hazard for anyone close to the stream!” he stated in a social media publish. “For that reason I’ve signed an order forbidding anybody from approaching the lava entrance.”
In Ragalna, one other group on Etna’s slopes, the authorities ordered everybody to remain a minimum of 500 meters, or almost 550 yards, away from the lava stream.
However because the authorities issued orders, folks nonetheless seemed to be importing photographs and movies taken from the neighborhood of the lava flows. Videos shared by the corporate AccuWeather confirmed folks snowboarding down a snowy slope whereas lava smoldered and molten chunks of fabric tumbled down within the distance. In a single clip, the silhouette of a sightseer’s physique will be seen towards pink lava cascading not far within the background.
“Some folks have independently managed to strategy sure areas, however native municipalities have now imposed restrictions to forestall entry to websites affected by the eruption for security causes,” stated Giulia Campisi, a spokeswoman for a volcano tour company, Go-Etna.
Ms. Campisi stated in an e mail that the eruption was affecting Etna’s western flank, the place fewer vacationers know the paths. “To succeed in the lava stream on this notably chilly winter,” she stated, “you could stroll for a very long time in deep snow.”
Go-Etna has not been taking vacationers on to the lava flows, she stated, including that it was abiding by native restrictions and security measures. She additionally cited the hazard that happens when scorching lava meets frigid snow.
“In some deeper spots, this could trigger an instantaneous (and actually EXPLOSIVE) evaporation of the snow, ensuing within the projection of scorching stones, like bullets in every single place,” she stated. “Occasions like these can take even consultants abruptly.”
Stefano Branca, the director of the Nationwide Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology, known as the exercise a “typical summit eruption.” He added, “Solely individuals who come inside a couple of meters from the lava stream will be in peril as the warmth of the lavas may cause small hydromagmatic explosions attributable to the speedy melting of the snow.”
Elisabetta Povoledo contributed reporting.
