CATANIA, Italy (Reuters) – Italy’s Mount Etna, Europe’s highest and most active volcano, erupted on Monday, sending a huge column of ash into the sky and causing the closure of Catania airport on Sicily’s eastern coast.
A chain of around 130 earth tremors have rocked the volcano since around 0800 GMT on Monday, Italy’s National Institute for Geophysics and Volcanology said, with the strongest posting a magnitude of 4.0.
There were no reports of any injuries.
The 3,330 meter high volcano can burst into spectacular action several times a year, spewing lava and ash high over the Mediterranean island. The last major eruption was in 1992.
(Reporting by Giselda Vagnoni, writing by Gavin Jones; Editing by Toby Chopra)
TOKYO (Reuters) – A series of shallow earthquakes shook parts of western Japan on Monday and authorities warned that further strong shaking is possible over the coming days.
A quake at 1632 GMT measured at magnitude 5.8 by the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA), at a depth of 10 kms (7.5 miles), causing strong shaking in parts of Shimane prefecture on the Sea of Japan coast.
Shaking of that intensity can cause walls to collapse, open cracks in the ground and trigger landslides. The United States Geological Service Survey (USGS) measured the initial quake at magnitude 5.6 at a depth of 7 kms.
A JMA official warned at a press briefing that the region could experience further jolts over the next week, particularly in the coming two or three days.
No injuries have so far been reported as a result of the earthquakes, public broadcaster NHK said.
(Reporting by Tim Kelly; Editing by Stephen Coates)
ROME (Reuters) – A strong earthquake hit the same area of central Italy on Thursday that has already been battered by a spate of recent tremors, but there were no reports of casualties or further serious damage.
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) initially measured the quake at 5.0 but later revised it to 4.8. Its epicenter was in the Marche region, one of three areas hit repeatedly since August.
Nearly 10 hours after the latest quake, there were no reports of casualties, injuries or serious damage to buildings already weakened by previous tremors.
Earthquakes measuring 5.5 and 6.1 hit the area on Oct. 26, followed by a 6.6 magnitude quake on Sunday, the biggest tremor to strike Italy for 36 years.
The recent quakes have reshaped more than 600 square km (230 square miles) of land, lowering areas around the epicenter by up to 70 cm (28 inches), according to data released by Italy’s National Institute for Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV)..
Central Italy was hit by an initial earthquake on Aug. 24 that killed 300 people, most of them in the town of Amatrice. Since then, some 21,600 aftershocks have battered the region, the INGV said, driving most residents from their homes.
(Reporting by Philip Pullella in Rome and Sandra Maler in Washington; Editing by Tom Heneghan)