Eruption fears spark island evacuation

Steam envelops the island as lava meets the sea

All remaining inhabitants of the Italian island of Stromboli have been evacuated amid fears of further violent volcanic eruptions.

On Monday part of the island's volcanic cone about the size of a 60-storey building crashed into the sea, causing a tidal wave that damaged boats and houses.

The latest fear is that a large reservoir of magma near the lip of the volcano could burst out and make explosive contact with the sea.

The reservoir is 300 metres in diameter, and lies behind what Rai TV described as a "thin crust", some 200 metres below the crater.

The television station says the sudden meeting of lava and sea could cause send plumes of steam kilometres into the atmosphere, throwing big rocks large distances.

Steam cloud

More than 300 residents were taken from Stromboli to the neighbouring island of Lipari in the days following Monday's eruption.

Six people needed hospital treatment, one of whom had jumped out of a window in panic.

Currently only thin streams of lava reach the sea

The last 27 people on the island were evacuated on Thursday, because of concern for their safety.

They had originally chosen to stay behind despite advice to leave.

Currently three liquid lava flows from the volcano, also called Stromboli, are running into the sea, with the resulting cloud of steam is shrouding the whole island.

Civil defence chief Guido Bertolaso rejected "apocalyptic" prophesies, in comments to Rai TV, saying the main danger at present was of further landslides.

He said lava currently sticking to the steep slopes of the volcano could fall off.

Earthquakes

Stromboli is known for frequent small eruptions, but has not had a major eruption since 1985.

Its current burst activity comes after weeks of on-and-off eruptions from Europe's most active volcano, Mount Etna, in eastern Sicily.

There have also been earthquakes in the Sicilian capital, Palermo, in recent days.

"If the activity continues on the Lipari islands [which include Stromboli] we can certainly expect more of those minor earthquakes of the kind that occurred in Palermo," an expert, Mario Tozzi, told Rai Tre TV.