GLOBEALERT
Disaster● ElevatedBreakingAug 12 · Aug 12, 2026, 5:20 PM

Tourists rush to Mount Etna as it erupts, alarming Italian guides

GlobeAlert Desk · curated from South China Morning Post

Spectacular images of lava flowing down the slopes of an erupting Mount Etna have drawn flocks of tourists to the Italian volcano – to the worry of local guides. The tallest active volcano in Europe, Etna has been spewing ash and lava for days, forcing the closure of the nearby Catania airport, a key gateway for tourists visiting the island of Sicily. Companies that organise nighttime hikes allowing participants to watch the eruption up close say they have been flooded with calls. “They all want...

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Threat level
2 Elevated

Scored from severity, scale, escalation potential and source agreement. Below the alert threshold.

Sources
1 publisher

Single-source so far. Treat details as unconfirmed until more publishers report.

Category
Disaster

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