Results of a reconnaissance trip to Mt. Etna, Italy

Abstract

This paper details the observations taken from a reconnaissance trip to Mt. Etna, Italy during the 2002 flank eruption, and utilizes those observations to identify potential hazards in New Zealand. It also makes recommendations for preparation and response to those hazards. The various types of hazards posed by Etna are primarily lava flows, ashfall and earthquakes. Lava flows caused intense damage in proximal areas, including forests, roads and the destruction of ski lifts and several buildings. Ashfall affected a much larger area, and was thus responsible for most of the damage economically. While earthquakes were not severe by New Zealand standards, the unreinforced masonry structures that predominate on Etna did not cope well with the seismic activity that accompanied the eruption. Several lessons taken from this eruption are applicable to New Zealand, both in effects of basaltic and more silicic types of volcanism.