Watch: Mount Etna smoulders as tremors continue to shake Sicily

The volcano is still reportedly spewing smoke and ash, as a series of minor earthquakes shook the nearby region in the days following the eruption.

The ongoing eruption triggered a 4.8-magnitude earthquake near the volcano that injured 28 people and damaged buildings in the early hours of Wednesday.

There were more tremors felt last night, local media reports, with authorities recording 12 seperate minor quakes in the region.

Despite the cold, many local residents chose to spend the night in their cars, in front of their homes, fearing a bigger quake could be on its way.

Another video posted by the Fire Brigade on Twitter last nght shows earthquake damage in Catania.

Last night authorities put “about 370 displaced people” up in temporary accommodation, including hotels, gyms and care homes, Angelo Borrelli, head of Civil Defence, told local radio station RadioUno.

After complaints that there was no alert issued before the earthquakes hit, Borrelli said the region had been on yellow alert since September, but the earthquakes were “impossible to predict.”

"Since September 24th we have recorded an increase in seismicity,” in the area, he said.

Firefighters rescue a dog from a partially collapsed building in Catania yesterday. Photo: Italian Fire Brigade.

Mount Etna, 3,300 metres high, is the biggest active volcano in Europe, with frequent eruptions recorded for 2,700 years.

Its most recent eruptions occurred in the spring of 2017 and its last major eruption in the winter of 2008/2009.

At the end of March a study published in the Bulletin of Volcanology said that Etna is slowly sliding towards the Mediterranean at a constant pace of 14 millimetres per year.

A view of Mount Etna. Photo: Marie-Laure Messana/AFP