18th August, 10h30 : I go up to Belvedere, hoping after 6 days of rest a new paroxysm.

10h40 : tourits along the new active cone, fully quiet all the day long.

19th August, 9h50 : after all a night without any strombolian activty, I am awakened at 5h30 by a noisy explosion, at least !

18h44 : not any strombolian activity.

20th August, 5h25 : lavaflows appear ; I move to Belvédère.

6h : the thick lavaflow goes down quietly along the new active cone.

6h48 : no strombolian activity with lavaflows ; all is quiet and its nice to be alone here, before paroxysm.


7h30 : scientists from Instituto de Catania arrive as some guides of Etna and a cameraman.

8h59 : strombolian activity suddenly gets much stronger.

9h : a fountain of lava appears suddenly.

9h02 : I feel the heat of fountain of lava hidden by clouds and tephra.

9h04 : bombs are getting more near ; scientists and cameraman (cf. son film sur Youtube : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NwYI-c-9Juc) leave very fast.. .

9h10 : bombs smashing new active cone : noise is impressive !

9h12 : bombs fall now towards from Torre to Valle del Bove... Scientist have dropped very fast in their 4X4 and guides from Etna call me to go out as fast as possible. Last picture from the 5/7 km plume.

9h20 : pictures from inside of the bus of Funivia at the exact time when some hundred meters long pyroclastic flows went down toward South. Better to get off ! Big scoria are falling all the way down.

9h45 : at Sapienza.

Paroxysm of 20th August seen by other people

8h48 and 9h15 : from South edge of Valle del Bove, up Serra dell'Acqua ; images by Nunzio from Esagonal.

Seen from Taormina ; image by Jean-François Ricci.

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