Volcanoes
Sicilian airport reopens after Europe’s largest volcano erupted
Thousands of flights were cancelled and travellers grounded after Sicily’s Mt Etna erupted at an altitude of about 2700 metres, causing chaos for holidaymakers.
- by Lucy Cormack
Latest
Tourists given no safety warnings before landing on deadly New Zealand volcano, court told
The owners of White Island in New Zealand have gone on trial for allegedly failing to protect tourists and staff in the 2019 eruption that killed 22 people.
- by Rod McGuirk
Risk of eruption forces evacuations as Philippines’ most active volcano rumbles
A key tourist draw for its picturesque conical shape, Mayon last erupted violently in 2018, displacing tens of thousands of villagers.
- by Jim Gomez and Aaron Favila
Updated
Russia
Russian volcano erupts, spewing out a monster cloud of ash
The ash cloud reached 20 kilometres high in Russia’s far east and was moving west, triggering an aviation warning.
- by Elaine Monaghan
New analysis reveals volcanic Venus is a dynamic world of lava flows
The new findings suggest there are eruptions on Venus about every few months, similar to some Earth volcanoes in places like Hawaii and Iceland.
- by Will Dunham
Indonesian volcano spews clouds of ash in new eruption
Avalanches of searing gas clouds and lava forced authorities to halt tourism and mining activities on the slopes of the country’s most active volcano.
- by Slamet Riyadi
Exclusive
Biodiversity
‘Not a scrap of vegetation’: The decades-long fight to bring Phillip Island back from the brink
It is the little animals like snails, skinks, geckos and giant centipedes that make Pacific Island ecosystems tick. The giant carnivorous centipede – more than 30 centimetres long – feasts on skinks and baby seabirds, providing nutrients for the soil. The snails eat the slime and the rubbish.
- by Julie Power
★★★★
Review
White Island volcano documentary captures two minutes of sheer terror
The eruption in New Zealand left 22 people dead and a lifetime of trauma for survivors, but do the filmmakers need someone to blame?
- by Karl Quinn
Indonesia’s Mount Semeru erupts, spewing gas clouds and lava rivers
Mount Semeru is Indonesia’s highest volcano on its most densely populated island.
Mauna Loa volcano erupts for first time in nearly 40 years
The Hawaiian volcano rising 4169 metres above the Pacific Ocean wasn’t the only one to begin erupting in the Americas.
Alert level raised for New Zealand volcano that caused largest eruption in 5000 years
Geological agency GeoNet has detected almost 700 small earthquakes below Lake Taupo, the caldera created by the giant volcano.
- by Lucy Craymer