Sirens sound as volcano erupts
2007-02-27 17:47
Stromboli - Emergency warning sirens sounded in the Italian island of Stromboli on Tuesday after civil protection officials recorded "a consistent increase" in the volcano's activity.
Three patrol boats and an aircraft have been dispatched to the area while officials were urging residents in Stromboli and in nearby islands to keep away from the coast.
Lava has began flowing out of two craters near the mountain's summit and the magma has already reached the sea.
Officials fear a repeat of the 2002 eruption, when a huge volume of rock fell into the sea and caused tsunami waves, the highest of which measured 10m high and seriously damaged the Stromboli village.
Stromboli is a small island in the Tyrrhenian Sea, off the north coast of Sicily.
Its volcano, which now stands nearly 1 000m above sea level, has been in almost continuous eruption for the last 2 000 years. - Sapa-dpa
- SAPA