Stromboli in Sicily, Italy, has erupted today with authorities confirming the volcanic explosion in the height of the summer holiday season. The unexpected natural disaster saw the volcano spew molten ash and lava before police attended the scene and confirmed one person had sadly died. As reported on Mirror Online, the individual, thought to be from Italy, died with another left injured. Yet with Italy’s latest incident, is it safe for Britons to travel to?
The UK’s FCO has updated its advice for travel to the Mediterranean country in light of the incident.
It states: “There was a volcanic eruption on the island of Stromboli, Sicily, on Wednesday 3 July.
“Local authorities have responded and are monitoring the situation; there are no reports of significant impact on populated areas, but local authorities are assisting those on the island who wish to leave.
“If you’re in the area, you should follow the advice of local authorities.”
It added: “Many parts of Italy lie on a major seismic fault line. Minor tremors and earthquakes are a regular occurrence.”
Reports from Global News suggest the explosion started fires on the western side of the island and “enveloped” the destination – frequently visited by UK tourists on boat tours – in smoke.
Michela Favorito, who works in a hotel near Fico Grande, told Reuters: “We saw the explosion from the hotel.
“There was a loud roar. We plugged our ears and after this a cloud of ash swept over us.
“The whole sky is full of ash, a fairly large cloud.”
Another tourist wrote on Twitter of the panicked reaction of visitors, who often climb to the top of the volcano to over into the crater.
They posted: “The #Stromboli volcano exploded a few minutes ago.
“Panic and Chaos among the people present on the Island. Many are trying to escape into the sea swimming or in small boats.”
Italian website protezionecivile.gov, a recommended advice source for UK tourists, states the area is now in “Yellow Alert.”
It flags the affected time and area as: “Thursday 4 July, in Lombardy, Veneto, Emilia-Romagna and most of Piedmont.”
In June, Express.co.uk reported how an earthquake measuring 3.7 on the Richter Scale hit Rome.
In wider volcano advice, the FCO does warn Britons to be aware of the potential for earthquakes in Italy, and the actions to take when one occurs.
It states: “Since 14 August 2018, there have been a number of localised earthquakes in the Molise region of Italy, near the town of Montecilfone.
“Several strong earthquakes were felt in central Italy in 2016, 2017 and 2018.”
It added: “Due to Mount Etna’s recent volcanic eruption, a series of earthquakes and earth tremors are affecting the Catania area and the eastern part of the island of Sicily.”
Currently UK airlines and airports in Sicily are not affected by the Stromboli explosion.
