Around 9 a.m. on November 11, a rain lasting around twenty minutes remobilized the ashes deposited by the powerful explosion that occurred on July 11, to form mudslides which spread into the gullies taking their source in the summit area of the volcano. As they descended, they became loaded with older volcanic products, forming flows loaded with blocks which formed real torrentstorrents in the village!
With several houses engulfed in mud and streets to be cleared, cleaned and, in some cases, repaired, the damage is quite extensive. In addition, this event, which comes on top of other similar flows over the past two years, has left a real feeling of worry and an impression of distance for the islanders. The demonstration organized yesterday, Thursday November 14, thus aimed to request that work be carried out to limit this risk, on an island where a fire in June 2022 did not help (240 hectares burned), since these trees previously allowed better land retention.
Lahar in the alleys of the village of Ginostra in Stromboli.
This event reminds us of the dangerousness of these lahars, which can form completely disconnected from an eruption, making them particularly dangerous.
Significant damage in the villages of Stromboli.
Lahars can also reach great distances, like the mudslides that invaded the town of Armero in Colombia in 1985, a town located about fifty kilometers from the summit of the Nevado volcano. of theof the Ruiz, causing 23,000 victims!
Particularly intense volcanic activity at the moment!
Since the explosion of July 11, which reopened the northern crater of the volcano (250 meters in diameter and 150 meters deep), activity has remained quite intense, with some explosions more powerful than normal and fairly frequent usual activity. and intense, which made it possible to largely fill this depression. The permanent splashing activity on certain vents, what we call splashingis also very frequent and often associated with small ephemeral lava flows which flow into the Sciara del Fuoco.
The usual Stromboli activity, filmed on November 9, 2024. What a spectacle!
I will accompany two stays at StromboliStromboli (in addition to theEtnaEtna and of VolcanoVolcano) in 2025, in April and September. More information here.
Stromboli, this small volcano island where humans coexist with a volcano that has been continuously active for 2,000 to 3,000 years!
