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[ Volcano Etna |Etna Outbreak 2002-2003 | Lava | Volcano Outbreak Videos ] |
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Volcano Etna on Sicily, outbreak 2002 until 2003. |
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In the year 2001 i left Germany for an unknown time, it had to be 1 year,
one year on sicily, the hometown of my parents and my ancestor.
In Germany born and grown up, it pulled me on all vacations to sicily, to
the day that i wanted more then 6 weeks vacations.
I decided shortly after the attemps on the 11. september to travel to sicily and
to stay there for a while.
My Grandfather possesses a pretty nice house, and a place was also
available for me, so i decide to realize my dream and i traveld into the south.
That was only a little prehistory of the
actual subject, the volcano Etna on Sicily.
I would like to offer you a little insight of my life
and a report of my days, that I was allowed
to divide with the volcano.
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I was lucky to be right on the first day of the erruption wave in Catania
it was so impressing and yet frightening at the same time.
My neighbor loves that hinges so much like I,
that we went to the beach like each sunday to go fishing.
Additionally is to say, that on October a special kind of fish
sort arrive at the harbor of catania, so we went there.
It was 5 am in the morning when i was sitting at the harbor
at sometimes you could hear a hummed, my neighbour tolds me
that the motain probably has badly eaten
would have a stomach irritation.
I laughed about that joke, almost so long as you are on a safety side.
In the last weeks it came often throughout seismic movements all over the island
but really seriously it takes almost noone. It will be told for some days trough
neughbours and finish. Really strong erruptions was detected only a few weeks before
at palermo and the etna hummed also for some weeks louder and stronger as before.
I was always interested about the volcano and so i was on hunting of experiences to knew more about
all.
It became 6 o'clock and slowly the sun comes up, I perceived an
enormous black strip in the sky. The strip was so long that
i wasn't able to view the end of it. Something like that i never have seen before.
Immediately I rose and standed up to take a look on the montain, where
i had to leave my fishing place.
My neighbour got there nothing at all of it, something like that can not
distracted him from fishing unwillingly and not at all by a smoke cloud.
But the smoke cloud was so big at all, that my curiosity
did not want to rest.
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I wanted to know what it was behind this black cloud, i assumed it could be a forest fire, but after i saw the etna, the measurement of his explosion wer so clear. I couldn't believe it, a gigantic smoke cloud overcast the mountain tip and pulled some kilometers far into the south-east. Through the wind big quantities of ash rain were carried towards Africa, where they arrived at the evening |
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I reported it quickly to my neighbor, who stands immediately up and looked at it from far away. "Minchia... ": and this has something to mean, when he use this kind of word. ;o) well at this time i found it funny, but he told me to went quickly home because it looks not good. So the calm Sinior Orazio, changed in a hectic pensioner who was seeking to get soon as possible at home. In addition i have to say that we both live in a little village called Tremestieri Etneo which position is in the vicinity of Trecastagni and Nicolosi. Therefore, already somewhat more closely at the etna as Catania itself. For me, it was might the largest outbreak which i could ever see up to this date, also if i already saw a couple of little outbreaks. My first records emerged in the year 1995 but this view was enormous. We packed our hinge specials and had only one thought in mind to come quickly at home to look if there was all in regular. Already on the way home i noticed a unrest which was broken out, and how closer we get home so more ash rain was fallen on us down, soon you wasn't able anymore to see anything and people hold cloths in front of there mouths to breathe. The ash rain falls still and gets into the eyes of the peasants and so it gets to a intolerable sorrow for that who was passing by foot. Chaos was broken out, that's what i can told you, the darkness on day, because the sun didn't permeate the clouds and always fallen litle rocks on us. Through the cars and the ruling wind, this fine and coarse sand was blowed around by the turbulence and within shortest time, the sand arrived on all position who you could imagine. As we then finally arrived at home , family member and neighbours were expecting us already. We stood there and we weren't able to see hardly anything , because there was permanently the volcanic sand falling down on us. In the television news, this situation was described also with air reception. Catania and the surrounding cities were added in the next weeks totally. Hardly conceivable how much material was hurled out of the etna. Some of my private video records might be able to describe the measurement. Video records of the volcano outbreak Ätna 2002 Catania-Italy In the last years the etna was especially active, after he spared in the year 2001 the village Nicolosi, the etna starts a four month firework, where you could see lava fontains which were blowed more then 200 meters in the air. On this outbreak a 6000 km long ash cloud was created which can be prettily seen on some satellite receptions. Every day, the entrance had to be cleaned, but it became harder day for day, the dust and the ash was blew by the wind all around, and we celebrated each day where no sand was transported in our directions, but those days would be used to clean all up again. The material of the last days hat to be removed from the plot of land otherwise it grows up to enormously. Initially i told to my grandfather that we could put all into the garden, because the sand contains many important minerals and is a good manure. But in the following weeks there poured so many tons of ash rain on our plot of land that it creates a 2,5 meter high sand accumulation. Next to to the 1.5 tons of sand which i have collected finely cleaned with my brother, and after that distribute tons over tons in the 1000 m² garden of my grandfather, we expected a quick end of the volcano activities. It went further many months so and the condition was indescribable. Masks were distributed against the dust, after it was assessed that the dust consists of little crystals and rocks, which are so sharpen that they could also cut glas and damage the lungs and cause cornea-injuries as sequences. Especially older persons that led under Asma had really hard months. Hardly nothing was done by the country against the dust and the ash rain, only 10 000 masks where distribute initially in Catania, were at the same time 1 million concerned people were in need of them. First after month of inhalation of this volcano dust there were masks for all available, but the persons were only bad informed about the injurious of the sand. So often only the young people where that who used specially the masks. I would say that ca. 5% uses a masks, but sunglasses was worn by anybody. What humans see, that does them believe, but what they inhales seems them not to interest. sad person fate and another subject. Sicily was forgotten, after in Italy on 21.10.2002 in the region of molise an earthquake kills several children and some adults and the press was immediately there to get informations and to report form there. Shortly before the village of Santa Venerina which is lain at a cliff of the etna became destroyed. Through the many dead children in Molise, the news reported preferred out od this region because the damages were more largely there. Where more drama rules, there you'll find 80% of the press. So they became money secured for reconstruction more faster then Santa Venerina which is until today signed by the outbreak 2002 and 2003. Here you can take a look how many money was secured ww.europarl.eu.int/meetdocs/committees/budg/20030910/431000de.pdf , but Catania´s citizen did not get a lot benefits, i'm be willing to confirm this. Catania was regular burried and the country has only viewed but has done nothing. I was heavily disappointed of the Italian country, we created everything alone and by means of the family and the neighbors. The country removed either the sand mountains before our doors. The taxes for the rubbish removal however increases around 100%. Only Catania was cleaned up regulary, we in tremestieri etneo for example had to pay a lot but help idn't arrived. All streets were cleaned by inhabitants themselves. It became always worse, the rain grooves filled with volcano sand and clogged flowing off and prevented so the water could flow away. We had to clean on the roofs and the rain groove. It was avoid November and with 5 degrees ouside, wind and ash rain, that was already very uncomfortable. The volcano sand became through the rain on the last days so hard, like stone that i noticed really quickly that the cleaning up of the rain grooves would take some more hours at last then i thought first. So was it then also, during i was collecting the stiff mass , all the time there was falling more and more ash rain and ash dust which filled steadily the rain grooves over and over. Out of this climbing sport gets a 2 week mission, regulary i had to climb up the roofs and to remove all the volcano sand. Who waited more was in risk that all the construction could fall on himself over the head together. The weight of the ash is bigger then someone would imagine. So i filled up 1.5 liter bottles with this sand and after i weight it , it were more then 2 kg, what is a explanation for the enormous density. Alone the sand out of the rain groove was more then 1 ton heavily. Through the earthquakes that we occasionally had, you could might not leave further weight on the roofs. The airport of Catania was also fast out of order, that all the traffic was driven to palermo. For me it was really uncomfortable because i was close to leave sicily and return to germany again. After a long stay on the island, i wanted to be at home again. But it has to be from catania, else i would wait, and so i have done then. At the half of january the etna gets calmer and so the situation stabilized and the airport returns to his old constitution and could be flight again. At the end, i stayed 4 month more on the island, then planed. But one reason was not to let go away that amazing spetacle and otherwise not to let alone my grandfather and grandmother. Both had it really hard, it was good that i stayed and i'm not started from palermo. First for the (01.02.03--- what kind of date :o)) I was able to get the first flight from Catania to Düsseldorf, and you've to believe i was happy to land in germany again. That has not to mean that my sorrow to leave the island was less, the opposite, fast i recognized what i have left there behind me. I was cought so much from the sicilian lifestyle that i had it really hard in the beginning to integrate myself. My Brain worked already in the sicilian way of grammar and language and who knows sicilian and german knows also that there are some things reversed. After a couple of weeks, all was again like in old times what my german concerns, and also i found the pleasure again in germany, it got warmer and the cold winter was over. Continuation follows.... Giovanni Malfitano |
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<---- Enlargement | Here one sees would avoid the end the outbreak phase January 2003. The ash cloud became increasingly smaller. |
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<---- Enlargement | The photo emerged would end shortly before my departure January. |