Overview

• Seismic tremors around 10 PM on June 1 preceded a major eruption at about 11:24 AM on June 2, featuring increasingly intense strombolian explosions.
• A partial collapse of the southeast crater produced a pyroclastic flow and propelled an ash column to over 6,000 meters, visible across Sicily.
• The Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre in Toulouse issued a red aviation warning that was lowered to orange within hours, allowing Catania airport to stay operational with limited diversions.
• Tourists hurried down mountain paths during ashfall and lava bombs but no injuries were reported and no evacuations were ordered for nearby towns.
• As Etna’s 14th eruptive episode since mid-March subsided by late afternoon, scientists from Italy’s National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology continue round-the-clock surveillance.