Key facts
- Erupted throughout November 2002
- Located on Sicily, the largest island in the Mediterranean.
Causes
Mt Etna is on a destructive plate boundary. The African plate is being subducted underneath the Eurasian plate. Mt Etna is a strato-volcano formed by repeated volcanic eruptions that have built up layers of lava and ash to create a cone.
Consequences Social
- Damaged more than 100 homes in Santa Venerina
- 1000 people had to leave their homes in Linguaglossa
- Schools were shut down in Linguaglossa (although the church remained open for people to pray)
Economic
- Catania airport was closed for 4 days as ash was covering the runway and threatened to clog aircraft engines
- The skiing season was about to start but the area was covered by the flowing lava.
- Lava flows engulfed a restaurant and push over three ski-lift pylons
Environmental
- A series of earthquakes, measuring up to 4.3 on the Richter scale
- Magma was thrown more than 100m into the air
- Lava ran quickly down the mountainside forming two seperate flows
- Ash fell on the nearby city of Catania and drifted as far south as Libya
- Destroyed hundreds of hectares of forest on the slopes of the volcano
Responses Short-term
- Holiday homes were taken over by local authorities to house the displaced people
- Residential areas such ass Linguaglosssa were evacuated due to the threat from the lava flow
- Villagers in Linguaglossa paraded their patron saint through the town to try to ward off the lava flow
- Italian government declared a state of emergency in parts of Sicily during the eruption
- Rescue workers battled to divert the lava that threatened to engulf a volcanic monitoring station at the foot of Mt Etna
- Army used bulldozers to crack the tarmac and build barriers in the Mt Etna visitor car park to try to create a channel that would redirect the lava away from populated areas
- Emergency workers dug channels to divert the northern flow away from Linguaglossa
- A ship equipped with a medical clinic was positioned off Catania to be ready in case of emergency
Long-term
- Italian government gave tax breaks to the 300 families who were affected by the eruption
- Government also provided more than £5.6 million in immediate financial assistance
- Tourist facilities rebuilt