Etna and Stromboli update, 28 February 2013

On the late forenoon of 28 February 2013, Etna's New Southeast Crater has produced yet another paroxysmal eruptive episode, which culminated with the opening of an eruptive fissure in the saddle between the old and new cones of the Southeast Crater. A lava flow emitted from this fissure reached the monitoring station of Belvedere and descended onto the western slope of the Valle del Bove. Pyroclastic material and gas formed a large plume, which was blown eastward, leading to heavy fallout of ash and scoriae in the area between Milo and Fornazzo on Etna's flank, and Giarre and Riposto on the Ionian coast. This paroxysm had been preceded during the night of 27-28 February by intense Strombolian activity both at the Voragine and at the Bocca Nuova. At Stromboli, the lava overflow from the crater terrace, which began on the afternoon of 27 February, ceased during the late evening of the same day.