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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Saturday, November 02, 2002

Tremors Continue to Shake Lava-spewing Etna in Italy

As Italians sought to cope with the devastating effects of the country's biggest earthquake in five years, communities living on the slopes of Mount Etna continued to live in fear that a similar quake would rock the reawakened volcano.


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As Italians sought to cope with the devastating effects of the country's biggest earthquake in five years, communities living on the slopes of Mount Etna continued to live in fear that a similar quake would rock the reawakened volcano.

The unpredictable Etna, Europe's most active volcano, returned to life six days ago with a series of tremors that sent lava flowing down the mountainside and ash into the air.

The biggest quake occurred at 11:32 on Tuesday morning, damaging buildings and infrastructure in several small towns and leaving some 3,000 people temporarily homeless.

Officials in Catania said the mountain was shaken by minor tremors throughout the night and morning, the largest measuring 3.9 on the Richter scale.

Ash and debris also continued to rain down on several tourist hotspots to the northeast of Etna, including Taormina. The ash started falling during the night, covering building, roads and vehicles with a thin layer of black dust.

Taormina officials banned the use of scooters and motorbikes because of poor visibility and the dangers posed by slippery roads.

However, Catania airport was reopened for the first time since Sunday, with local road sweepers working through the night to clear the remains of the ash on the runways which lie directly beneath the 3340-metre volcano.

Etna began erupting during the night between Saturday and Sunday with explosions that sent lava flowing from two main breaches.


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