ETNA’S ERUPTION

Greymouth Evening Star, 10 November 1928, Page 7

ETNA’S ERUPTION

TOLL OF HUMAN LIFE THOUSANDS HOMELESS ”“ > (Australian Press Association.) (By Cable—Press Assn.—Copyright.) ROME, November 8. Regarding the Mt. Etna eruption, Professor Ponte, Director of the Etna Observatory, has telegraphed Signor Mussolini saying. that the eruption of» 1910-11 lasted for a fortnight, but the present disturbances are-far‘more violent and must extend much longer. Aeroplanes are circling the summit, and signalling any new phenomena. They have announced a rain of stone and cinders has begun, accompaniedby explosions, which are heard throughout the district like the roar of artillery. It is now revealed that three men were incinerated in a farm house at Mescali. They had cleared out the women and children, and were preparing to leave themselves when boil- 1 ing lava encircled the house, which collapsed like a pack oUcards. Of a vast crowd who were assembled none could reach the men before they were swallowed upl The animals are reacting to. the catastrophe Cats jump boldly into the advancing incandescent mass, and are incinerated. Birds fly low, uttering mournful death songs before fluttering downward to their destruction. Only the dogs are normal, they barking, violently, as at the approach of an enemy. The evacuation of the villages is being carried on with wonderful discipline and calm, each family following a cart carrying their effects. One young widow' tramped alongside the coffin of her recently dead husband. Woods and orange, groves have been blotted out over a large area.

The Minister of Works is supervising the evacuation. Detachments of troops are aiding and are using explosives to form great holes in the mountainside, in an attempt to check the progress of the lava. In addition to the lava, incandescent boulders are now being vomited from the crater. Some of these measureten cubic feet constituting a grave menace to the water pipes, -none of which could withstand such an impact should it be struck. Among the victims were an old couple living in a lonely cottage amid orange groves. They were lingering and hoping that their home would be spared, but suddenly the lava, sped over the cottage, and the ; occupants disappeared under the stream of fire. A number of Mascali’s homeless people who exceed ten thousand, are in a pitiable condition, despite the efforts to alleviate their suffering.