Mount Etna provides 'awesome, dramatic display'

Matthew Chance

CNN Correspondent Matthew Chance is reporting with his crew from the mountainside of Mount Etna, where molten rock and lava continue to spew from the volcano on the Italian island of Sicily.

Q: Describe the scene:

CHANCE: We are on the slopes of Mount Etna, where we have managed to get literally within just a few meters from the lava flow, which is coming down the southern slopes of Europe's biggest active volcano.

Let me tell you, it is an awesome sight. It's like I imagine hell to be. There is bright orange molten lava running down the slopes. We've been seeing emergency teams trying their utmost working and racing against time to build "earth-defenses" against this lava flow.

VIDEO Emergency workers try to slow the flow of lava that threatens a town near Mount Etna. CNN's Matthew Chance reports (July 27) Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)   GALLERY Mount Etna roars again     MORE STORIES Living in shadow of a volcano

But they have failed. This lava flow is simply too strong for them to build defenses. The lava is mounting up against the earth and then flowing over the top towards property and towards populated areas.

Q: What are experts saying about the likelihood of a massive eruption?

CHANCE: Archaeologists, the experts in this field, some of whom are here watching this phenomenon, say what we may be witnessing here is the start of a new phase in this eruption -- a much more powerful stage.

At the top of Mount Etna, you can see an awesome, dramatic display of the kind of fireworks that are spewing out of the top of this very active volcano. It is being accompanied by thunderous explosions underground -- volcanic explosions that at times are literally shaking the mountainside that we are standing on.

The lava flow is hundreds of yards wide and goes right to the top of Mount Etna.

Q: Is the whole area being evacuated?

CHANCE: As far as the latest reports, the Italian government has said it is not planning at this point to evacuate people from populated areas. But it is saying the government is monitoring the situation very closely and that situation is constantly evolving.

That flow of lava is still continuing slowly, but deliberately, but is still a few kilometers away from the nearest village, Nicolosi.

Back in 1992, the Italian and U.S. military used controlled explosions to divert the flow. There are no immediate plans to do this, emergency workers are keeping their options open.

Q: What is the mood among local people?

CHANCE: People who live here are worried, but these are very enduring communities -- they have lived with the volcano all their lives, and these problems are not ones they have never faced before. Mount Etna is always erupting, but what is unusual now, is that the eruption is much more intense.

Q: Describe the intensity of the heat:

CHANCE: It's extremely intense. I don't know what temperature the mountain is at, but it's a staggering amount of molten heat. I liken it to a sauna that is much, much too hot, and multiply that by many times. It emits a glow into the night and you can feel it from 100 yards away.

It's not like an incenerator. You can tolerate it. You just shoot it for a few minutes with a camera, and then get away because your face gets red.

Q: As a journalist, you've been to many natural disasters and even into warzones. How does this volcano compare to the other dangerous stories you've covered?

CHANCE: I've been in natural disasters before. I've been in an earthquake before. I've never been at a volcano before. You do get this overwhelming sense of terror when you experience this because it's totally out of your control. It's almost too big to conceive of.

It's not like when you're in a tight firefight and there's a bomb coming down and you hear it explode. It's much more awesome than that. It's like you are confronting Mother Nature at its most violent, and that's terrifying.