Unusual eruptions

24. November 1998

Report by Pierre Cottens: At 18:05 local time, a strong explosion happened at the summit of Stromboli, two bangs separated by 5-8 seconds. From my office, I went out to the terrace, and I saw the magma still raising vertically. The height reached by the blocks was quite high, I estimated about 700 m. During one minute or more, I saw the magma. The mountain was very spectacular, all incandescent red, for about 15 minutes. At 18:20 all was again dark. The explosion was not very loud. One of the bangs made the doors and windows tremble, but not as strong as in 1996. The next day the volcano guide Zazà climbed the volcano. He found all the summit covered by the yellowish magma that is often erupted in these strong events.