{"id":242557,"date":"2025-02-19T20:49:08","date_gmt":"2025-02-19T20:49:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2025\/02\/19\/as-tourists-swarm-erupting-mount-etna-italian-authorities-warn-them-away\/"},"modified":"2025-02-19T20:49:08","modified_gmt":"2025-02-19T20:49:08","slug":"as-tourists-swarm-erupting-mount-etna-italian-authorities-warn-them-away","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2025\/02\/19\/as-tourists-swarm-erupting-mount-etna-italian-authorities-warn-them-away\/","title":{"rendered":"As Tourists Swarm Erupting Mount Etna, Italian Authorities Warn Them Away"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"text-align:center\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2025\/02\/19\/world\/europe\/MtEtna_thumbnail\/MtEtna_thumbnail-facebookJumbo.jpg?ssl=1\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"As Tourists Swarm Erupting Mount Etna, Italian Authorities Warn Them Away\" title=\"As Tourists Swarm Erupting Mount Etna, Italian Authorities Warn Them Away\" \/><\/div><p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-0\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Thousands of tourists have stormed the snowy slopes of Sicily\u2019s Mount Etna in recent weeks, congesting roads and obstructing the paths of rescue crews, the Italian authorities said, despite their efforts to keep people safely away from explosive lava flows.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mount Etna regularly erupts, and it has drawn tourists for decades. But the latest eruption, which began on Feb. 8, has drawn so many photographers, hikers and nature aficionados that it has raised a chorus of warnings and orders from local Italian officials. <\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Salvo Cocina, Sicily\u2019s regional civil protection leader, in a <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/share\/p\/15daazjLgZ\/\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">statement<\/a> Sunday described a \u201cconstant flow\u201d of about 1,000 people, as well as \u201cwild parking on the edges of tight streets\u201d that created an impasse for emergency vehicles.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cWith the dark, the risk of falling and sinking into the snow increases proportionally with the increase of people,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-1\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cEtna is giving us a breathtaking spectacle: A lava flow has reached our territory,\u201d Mayor Fabio Mancuso of Adrano <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/fb.watch\/xQGCXJBqcF\/\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">warned<\/a> his town near the foot of Etna a day earlier. \u201cA lot of people are trying to get closer to admire this natural phenomenon, but it is extremely dangerous!\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-2\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">He said the lava colliding with snow could cause violent explosions when the snow melts rapidly, resulting in high-pressure steam that can hurl rocks and lava a great distance. \u201cA mortal danger for anybody near the flow!\u201d he said in a social media post. \u201cFor this reason I have signed an order forbidding anyone from approaching the lava front.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">In Ragalna, another community on Etna\u2019s slopes, the authorities <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/photo?fbid=938490798455940&amp;set=pcb.938490911789262&amp;locale=it_IT\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">ordered<\/a> everyone to stay at least 500 meters, or nearly 550 yards, away from the lava flow.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">But as the authorities issued orders, people still appeared to be uploading images and videos taken from the vicinity of the lava flows. <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=tK_RczIy0cs\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Videos<\/a> shared by the company AccuWeather showed people skiing down a snowy slope while lava smoldered and molten chunks of material tumbled down in the distance. In one clip, the silhouette of a sightseer\u2019s body can be seen against red lava cascading not far in the background.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-3\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cSome people have independently managed to approach certain areas, but local municipalities have now imposed restrictions to prevent access to sites affected by the eruption for safety reasons,\u201d said Giulia Campisi, a spokeswoman for a volcano tour agency, Go-Etna.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Ms. Campisi said in an email that the eruption was affecting Etna\u2019s western flank, where fewer tourists know the trails. \u201cTo reach the lava flow in this particularly cold winter,\u201d she said, \u201cyou must walk for a long time in deep snow.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Go-Etna has not been taking tourists directly to the lava flows, she said, adding that it was abiding by local restrictions and safety measures. She also cited the danger that occurs when hot lava meets frigid snow.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cIn some deeper spots, this can cause an immediate (and literally EXPLOSIVE) evaporation of the snow, resulting in the projection of hot stones, like bullets everywhere,\u201d she said. \u201cEvents like these can take even experts by surprise.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-4\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Dr. Stefano Branca, the director of the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology called the activity a \u201ctypical summit eruption.\u201d He added, \u201cOnly people who come within a few meters from the lava flow can be in danger as the heat of the lavas can cause small hydromagmatic explosions caused by the rapid melting of the snow.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-6\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-798hid etfikam0\">Elisabetta Povoledo<!-- --> contributed reporting.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/02\/19\/world\/europe\/mount-etna-tourists-eruption.html\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Thousands of tourists have stormed the snowy slopes of Sicily\u2019s Mount Etna in recent weeks, congesting roads and obstructing the paths of rescue crews, the Italian authorities said, despite their efforts to keep people safely away from explosive lava flows. Mount Etna regularly erupts, and it has drawn tourists for decades. But the latest eruption, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":242558,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2025\/02\/19\/world\/europe\/MtEtna_thumbnail\/MtEtna_thumbnail-facebookJumbo.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[15436,36623,27877,3832,6638,188631,184641,36285,5773,170109,81669,123],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/242557"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=242557"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/242557\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":242559,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/242557\/revisions\/242559"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/242558"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=242557"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=242557"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=242557"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}