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The 1944 Vesuvius Eruption

The lava eruption continued outwards until 26 January, while inside the crater it carried on until 23 February, when eruptive activity came to a complete stop. A further collapse of the crater walls on 13 March 1944 led to a decrease in the volcano's activity, with weak ejections of scoria that increased over the following three days. During the night between 17 and 18 March, a major collapse of part of the crater occurred, bringing the eruptive activity to an end.

However, the real eruption — the last one of Vesuvius to date — began in the afternoon of 18 March 1944. The eruption was marked by powerful lava flows that reached Cercola, partly destroying the towns of Massa di Somma and San Sebastiano, among the areas most affected by the event. On 22 March, the eruptive style of Vesuvius changed. The eruptive column reached a height of 6 km, and avalanches of hot debris and small pyroclastic flows occurred on the sides of the crater. Throughout the day, intense seismic activity was recorded, until the morning of 23 March, when the eruptive activity was reduced to the emission of ash alone.

Eruptive activity gradually diminished on 24 March, with the explosions dying down until they disappeared entirely on the 29th, leaving only clouds of dust billowing from the crater, which faded away completely by the afternoon.


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