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Continuous ash emission from NE Crater on the morning of 12 October 1995, seen from Hotel Gemellaro, Nicolosi (about 15 km from the summit). Height of the ash plume is about 500-800 m. Conspicuous cone to the right of ash plume is the 1763 flank vent Montagnola (about 2600 m elevation).
Etna reawoke from more than two years of slumber in late July 1995 with episodes of Strombolian and phreatomagmatic activity in the Bocca Nuova and NE craters. Since then, all four summit craters have been the site of highly variable, and often spectacular, activity which is continuing at of early September 1997. While periodic updates appear on a special "Etna news" page on this site and on the "Current Activity" page of the Istituto Internazionale di Vulcanologia in Catania and reports (since January 1996) in the Bulletin of the Global Volcanism Network, the present report is a general summary intending to place the present activity in the framework of Etna's activity.