Volcanic activity on the island of Stromboli north of Sicily prompted Italian authorities to raise the level of alert from orange to code red on Thursday, DPA reported, quoted by BTA.
Residents are urged to follow the instructions of the local civil defense.
The National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV) has announced that increased volcanic activity has been registered on Stromboli. The island's active volcano is spewing lava and ash into the sea, the institute reported.
The island of Stromboli is permanently inhabited by a few hundred inhabitants. Many tourists travel to it by sea from mainland Italy or Sicily to climb the volcano, which is 920m high and erupts regularly.