Quake Rattles Erupting Etna

BBC ^ | 10-29-2002

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Tuesday, 29 October, 2002, 12:55 GMT

Quake rattles erupting Etna

Motorcycles are banned on Catania's ash-strewn streets

An earthquake rattled Sicilian villages in the shadow of erupting Mount Etna on Tuesday morning. Reports said villagers ran into the streets in panic after the quake, measuring 4.3 on the Richter scale.

The villages of Giarre, Santa Venerina and Zafferana Etnea were among those affected, and civil defence official Enrico Galeani said some people had been slightly injured.

The earthquake was the latest in a series of tremors to hit the area, as two rivers of lava snaked down the mountainside, one heading towards the town of Linguaglossa.

The second flow was on the volcano's southern side.

Emergency workers dug channels in the earth in an attempt to divert the flow away from Linguaglossa, and officials said on Tuesday they did not believe there was any immediate threat to the town.

Magma is flying 100 metres in the air

Water-spraying planes and helicopters attempted to prevent the spread of forest fires.

The airport outside the city of Catania remained closed on Tuesday for a third day.

There were no problems with inhabited areas, said regional president Nello Musumeci, although the tourist industry was in crisis.

The lava has swallowed buildings, including at least one restaurant, knocked down power lines and pushed over ski-lift pylons.

[billorites]

Here's a Big Satellite Image of the eruption.

Here's a Smaller Image.

[blam]

I like maps. Good pictures, thanks.

I'm trying to figure out how far this is from Thera/Santorini.