The Department of Civil Protection has ordered the transition of the alert for the Etna volcano from the green level to the yellow level and the pre-alert operational phase, inviting the territorial civil protection structures to adopt the appropriate local operational phases and risk mitigation measures, especially in relation to the possible presence of hikers at high altitude.
This decision was adopted in light of the assessments that emerged during the meeting with the Competence Centers and the Civil Protection Department of the Sicilian Region. The meeting was convened this afternoon following the activities of the volcano which recorded an increase in tremor and intense and continuous Strombolian activity mainly in the North-East Crater, accompanied by lava emissions in the crater area, with a possible rapid evolution of the phenomena towards a more energetic activity.
The passage of the alert level is based on the reports of the phenomenologies and on the hazard assessments made available by the Centers of Expertise which for Etna are the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (Etna Observatory, Vesuvian Observatory and Palermo Section) and the CNR-IREA.
Raising the alert determines the strengthening of the volcano monitoring system and the information connection between the scientific community and the other components and operational structures of the National Civil Protection Service. The Department of Civil Protection shares this information with the civil protection structure of the Sicilian Region which, especially in relation to local impact scenarios, alerts the territorial civil protection structures and adopts any measures in response to emergency situations.
Regardless of the local level volcanic phenomenologies, which can have frequent variations, a situation of enhanced disequilibrium of the volcano persists. The population on the island is therefore invited to keep informed and scrupulously follow the instructions provided by the local civil protection authorities.
