Etna

Where is it

Sicily, Italy

Which plates is it on and the type of movement

Mt Etna is to the side of the South Tyrrhenian Sea subduction zone

Damage

43 towns have been declared in a state of emergency after the eruptions

Some crops have been destroyed and have restricted harvest

Some roads have been shut down and the speed limit has been reduced down to 20 km/h

Schools in Giarre were shut for three days and the weekly market suspended. Locals have been instructed to collect the dust in transparent bags and not to mix it with ordinary rubbish.

there are 6 kilos of volcanic dust in every square meter and all together combine to make 12 tonnes of dust

the most recent black rain (ash rain) lasted only 30 minutes but will cost 720000 dollars to repair and clean

island

why is it populated and how many people are there

due too its near constant activity there are lots of fertile volcanic soil which brings many vineyards

south of Europe

South of MT Etna is Catania which has a population of 320000

28000 people live 25 km away in Giarre

plates of africa and europe converge on mt etna

mt etna is on the site of three fault zones

History of eruptions

25 Nov 1950 - 2 Dec 1951 - one of the most major eruptions of the 20th centaury

10 Jan 1966 - early April 1971 - this had resistant lava flow

28 March - 6 Aug 1983 - destructive eruption

14 Dec 1991 - 30 March 1993 - had persistent lava flow where efforts were made to divert it which were successful

29 July 1995 - 17 July 2001 - next to contiguous eruption and is the most voluminous eruption in the last 300 years

27 October 2002 - 28 January 2003 - total destruction of the tourist complex and skiing area

7 September 2004 - 8 March 2005 - this was a pure lava eruption