VESUVIUS ERUPTION SLACKENING

Dominion, Volume 37, Issue 153, 25 March 1944, Page 7

VESUVIUS ERUPTION SLACKENING

Further Damage Unlikely

LONDON, Bareh 23. The eruption of Vesuvius shows signs of slackening. Reuter’s Nahles correspondent reports that the lava flood now stands stagnant several hundreds yards from the centre of Cercola. An Allied provincial public safety officer said: “Unless something unpredictable happens, the remains of San Sebastiano, Cercola and Portici are now out of danger.” A tremendous cloud of smoke which ascended two or three miles accompanied a new outbreak of lava from Vesuvius this afternoon, but the fear of further damage from about ten streams of lava moving slowly down the slopes has lessened. Cardinal Ascolesi has ordered three days of special prayers in Naples Cathedral for protection by St. Janarius, the Neapolitan patron saint. Vast clouds of volcanic ash, hurled from Vesuvius, threw the entire city of Bari, 120 miles away, into darkness this morning. Electric lights bad to be turned on, and chickens went to roost. The air cleared half an hour later.