Tourists run for cover as Italy's Mount Etna erupts in fiery show of smoke and ash
The level of alert due to the volcanic activity was raised at the Catania airport, but no immediate interruptions were reported. An official update on Monday (Tuesday AEST) declared the ash cloud emission had ended by the afternoon.
Italy's INGV National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology said the spectacle on Europe's most active volcano was caused when part of the south-east crater collapsed, resulting in hot lava flows. It was the 14th eruptive phase in recent months.
The area of danger was confined to the summit of Etna, which was closed to tourists as a precaution, according to Stefano Branca, an INGV official in Catania.
Sicily's President, Renato Schifani, said lava flows emitted in the eruption had not passed the natural containment area 'and posed no danger to the population'.
The event was captured on video and in photos that went viral on social media. Tremors from the eruption were widely felt in the towns and villages on Mount Etna's flanks, Italian media reported.
Video showed tourists running along a path on the flank of the vast volcano with smoke billowing some distance in the background. Excursions are popular on Etna, which is some 3300 metres high, with a surface area of some 1200 square kilometres.
One student, from Trinity College in Dublin, told Irish broadcaster RTE News that her group had just arrived when the volcano erupted, London's Telegraph reported, prompting their tour guides to yell at them to get back in the minibus.
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Sydney Morning Herald
a day ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
It used to be farmland. Now this suburb is its own village
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The Age
a day ago
- The Age
It used to be farmland. Now this suburb is its own village
In August 2015, the factory opened an adjoining deli that serves freshly made cheese and Italian produce. It's since grown to be a destination eatery, and even welcomes thousands of people each March for its annual Ricotta Festival. 'We brought something unique to Thomastown that attracts people to this area. Otherwise, there's not really any reason why people come to Thomastown, to be frankly honest with you,' says Serena Zen, head of marketing. Other cheese factories also operate in the suburb. Florida Cheese moved its operation there in 1998, while Pantalica Cheese also has a local manufacturing facility. These factories are indicative of Thomastown's historical connection with the dairy industry. 'It's a big area … there were a lot of Italian migrants who settled here and started businesses near where they were living,' says Zen. 'Thomastown has a lot of food manufacturers … It's good to be near the city … It gives you more contact with the final customer.' Zen, who lives across the border in nearby Lalor, also says the That's Amore eatery fulfils a rising demand for modern venues within the suburb. 'A lot of young families are moving into these areas, and you see a demographic change,' she says. 'All of those young families are looking for places to have a good brunch. And there's nothing around. But we're here.' Roads and Transportation Thomastown station, located on the Mernda train line, was rebuilt and modernised in 2011. Keon Park station is also located in the suburb's south, on the border with Reservoir. The area is serviced by the Western Ring Road, which connects Melbourne's western and northern suburbs, although it often faces criticism for heavy traffic. Stalled plans to build an Outer Metropolitan Ring Road would link the Princes Freeway to Thomastown, likely easing congestion for drivers. For Chris Scull, who grew up in Thomastown and now volunteers for the Whittlesea Historical Society, his local transport network is convenient when compared with some other outer Melbourne suburbs. 'It's good because you're on the city fringe,' Scull says. 'I can go 10 minutes towards Bundoora and there's a huge park over there … But you've also got good transportation links.' This urbanisation would have been unimaginable during the early twentieth century, when Thomastown was little more than a farming town. It wasn't until the mid-1900s that it experienced a population boom. Historical census data shows that only 1500 residents lived in Thomastown in 1954. Today this number has ballooned to over 20,000. The area has changed a lot since Scull's childhood. But he says that this isn't necessarily a bad thing – the suburb still has plenty of room for growth. 'They're still filling up little pockets that are left … Some of the flats around Station Street and some of the houses there, I don't see why you couldn't knock them down and put some decent apartments in. 'A lot of the houses here are the same age as me, so they're getting to be 50 years old,' Scull says. 'And it's not really sad because they're not great'. Modern Thomastown Liz Skitch moved to the outer-north suburb a decade ago, shortly before the birth of her first child. She and her partner fell in love with a house with a backyard so big that it was 'basically a paddock'. They put in an offer straight away. 'At the end of the day, we couldn't afford Preston. We were in a share house in Preston, we were about to start a family, and we looked just a little bit further out,' Skitch says. But while the house (a triple-fronted brick veneer, with plenty of fruit trees and grapevines) is what brought the young family to Thomastown, Skitch says that the community is what made her want to stay. 'The minute we arrived, all the neighbours came to meet us. Old Frank around the corner was giving me lessons on how to bag the grapevines … and his wife, Theresa, was teaching us how to make sausages,' she says. Skitch now manages the Thomastown Neighbourhood House, a not-for-profit organisation that runs programs from a room at the local library. She's passionate about engaging the community, which she says is evolving but still remains the culturally rich place it has always been. 'It's kind of a sad time because a lot of the oldies are dying and selling up. But it's an exciting time because you've got the funky new families moving in, and we're seeing more diversity. 'We were really excited around the time of the [plebiscite] on gay marriage, when we started to see yes voters in Thomastown. It's becoming more progressive.' Skitch and volunteers at the Neighbourhood House have even invented a special nickname for their suburb: Promisetown. 'There's no snobbery. That's what I love … it's really down to earth. It's always been a place for underdogs,' she says. 'It's the land of opportunity.'
The Advertiser
2 days ago
- The Advertiser
It would be tragic not to tour Australia: Farrell
Coach Andy Farrell has insisted that the debate over Australia's future as a British and Irish Lions tour destination is "insulting". The Lions are seeking to complete a series whitewash when the rivals clash for the final time in Sydney on Saturday. Australian rugby is facing significant challenges on and off the field and is the weakest of the three nations visited by the elite of British and Irish rugby, with South Africa and New Zealand completing the 12-year rotation. Furthermore, there is growing support for the Lions to visit France because of the strength of their national side and club game, as well as the commercial possibilities. The Wallabies answered their critics at Melbourne Cricket Ground by taking the second Test to the wire in an all-time classic before falling 2-0 behind in the series when Hugo Keenan struck with 51 seconds left. When asked if Australia had earned the right to host another tour, Farrell replied: "It was never off the agenda, in my opinion. 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"I'm definitely going to Oasis and that's why I'm going home! I'll be taking a few friends. There are a few coaches here that are trying to get on the bandwagon." Coach Andy Farrell has insisted that the debate over Australia's future as a British and Irish Lions tour destination is "insulting". The Lions are seeking to complete a series whitewash when the rivals clash for the final time in Sydney on Saturday. Australian rugby is facing significant challenges on and off the field and is the weakest of the three nations visited by the elite of British and Irish rugby, with South Africa and New Zealand completing the 12-year rotation. Furthermore, there is growing support for the Lions to visit France because of the strength of their national side and club game, as well as the commercial possibilities. The Wallabies answered their critics at Melbourne Cricket Ground by taking the second Test to the wire in an all-time classic before falling 2-0 behind in the series when Hugo Keenan struck with 51 seconds left. When asked if Australia had earned the right to host another tour, Farrell replied: "It was never off the agenda, in my opinion. "Every single team, country and province have their ups and downs but Australia - the sporting nation that they are - are always going to come back. "Have a look at the year they've got coming up. Come the 2027 World Cup they're going to be a force to be reckoned with, 100 per cent. "It would be tragic not to tour here. We've had a blast. To me its insulting to talk about it in that kind of way." Farrell's success as Lions head coach - as well as his obvious passion for the concept - makes him overwhelming favourite to lead the next tour to New Zealand, but he is refusing to look beyond attending an Oasis concert at Croke Park upon his return home. "Would I do this again? Give me a break would you! Let me get through Saturday. I have absolutely loved every single minute and I knew I would because I just love everything that the Lions is about," he said. "Thinking about the future is not something that is on my mind until I get home and have a bit of reflection on the whole thing. "I'm definitely going to Oasis and that's why I'm going home! I'll be taking a few friends. There are a few coaches here that are trying to get on the bandwagon." Coach Andy Farrell has insisted that the debate over Australia's future as a British and Irish Lions tour destination is "insulting". The Lions are seeking to complete a series whitewash when the rivals clash for the final time in Sydney on Saturday. Australian rugby is facing significant challenges on and off the field and is the weakest of the three nations visited by the elite of British and Irish rugby, with South Africa and New Zealand completing the 12-year rotation. Furthermore, there is growing support for the Lions to visit France because of the strength of their national side and club game, as well as the commercial possibilities. The Wallabies answered their critics at Melbourne Cricket Ground by taking the second Test to the wire in an all-time classic before falling 2-0 behind in the series when Hugo Keenan struck with 51 seconds left. When asked if Australia had earned the right to host another tour, Farrell replied: "It was never off the agenda, in my opinion. "Every single team, country and province have their ups and downs but Australia - the sporting nation that they are - are always going to come back. "Have a look at the year they've got coming up. Come the 2027 World Cup they're going to be a force to be reckoned with, 100 per cent. "It would be tragic not to tour here. We've had a blast. To me its insulting to talk about it in that kind of way." Farrell's success as Lions head coach - as well as his obvious passion for the concept - makes him overwhelming favourite to lead the next tour to New Zealand, but he is refusing to look beyond attending an Oasis concert at Croke Park upon his return home. "Would I do this again? Give me a break would you! Let me get through Saturday. I have absolutely loved every single minute and I knew I would because I just love everything that the Lions is about," he said. "Thinking about the future is not something that is on my mind until I get home and have a bit of reflection on the whole thing. "I'm definitely going to Oasis and that's why I'm going home! I'll be taking a few friends. There are a few coaches here that are trying to get on the bandwagon."
