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Italy's Mount Etna, Europe's tallest volcano, erupted on June 2, causing tourists to seek safety.

Several videos online have shown people fleeing as smoke and ash billowed from the side of the volcano. Mount Etna, located in Sicily, joins Hawaii's Kilauea volcano as one of 47 volcanoes actively erupting this year.

According to a Facebook post by Italy's National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology, the eruption was "probably produced by the collapse of material from the northern side of the Southeast Crater."

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A translation of the post adds that “from preliminary observations, the hot pyroclastic material does not appear to have crossed the edge of the Valle del Leone (Valley of the Lion, an archaeological site). Contextually, the explosive activity from the Southeast Crater has moved to a lava fountain.”

According to GB News, an international news outlet, an institute spokesperson said "the values of the tremor amplitude are currently high with a tendency to increase further."

Mount Etna is Europe's tallest active volcano

According to the U.S. Geological Survey, volcanic activity in the Mount Etna area can vary from explosive eruptions to lava flows and ash emissions. The active stratovolcano is well-known for its frequent and continuous eruptions.

How volcanoes differ in shape and size

Mount Etna has a 500,000-year history of eruptions, with at least 2,700 years of such activity recorded, according to UNESCO, a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Mount Etna is one of the most researched and closely watched volcanoes in the world today.

CONTRIBUTING, Taylor Ardrey

SOURCE National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology, U.S. Geological Survey, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, GB News and USA TODAY research

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Sicily's Mount Etna eruption sends huge plumes of ash into air: See video

Reporting by Janet Loehrke, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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