Issued on: 29/09/2021 -
La Cumbre Vieja volcano erupted on September 19, spewing out rivers of lava that have slowly crept towards the sea
Ramon de la Rocha POOL/AFP/File
Madrid (AFP)
Lava from an erupting volcano in the Canary Islands has reached the ocean, volcanologists said, raising fears of toxic gases being released as the molten magma hits the seawater.
The Spanish archipelago had earlier declared an exclusion zone of two nautical miles around the location the lava was expected to enter the Atlantic and asked residents to stay at home.
"The lava flow has reached the sea at Playa Nueva," the Canary Islands Volcanic Institute (Involcan) said on Twitter Tuesday night.
La Cumbre Vieja volcano, which straddles a southern ridge in La Palma, an island with 85,000 inhabitants, erupted on September 19, spewing out rivers of lava that have slowly crept towards the sea.
Television images showed a stream of glowing lava entering the water, creating a large cloud of smoke.
Residents of several areas of Tazacorte, a village near the coast, were told Monday to stay at home to avoid harm from the release of toxic gases that can take place due to a reaction between the 1,000 degrees Celsius (1,800 degrees Fahrenheit) molten lava and water.
On Tuesday afternoon, the slow-moving lava flow, which has varied in speed over the past few days, was still around 800 metres (half a mile) from the coast.
Madrid (AFP)
Lava from an erupting volcano in the Canary Islands has reached the ocean, volcanologists said, raising fears of toxic gases being released as the molten magma hits the seawater.
The Spanish archipelago had earlier declared an exclusion zone of two nautical miles around the location the lava was expected to enter the Atlantic and asked residents to stay at home.
"The lava flow has reached the sea at Playa Nueva," the Canary Islands Volcanic Institute (Involcan) said on Twitter Tuesday night.
La Cumbre Vieja volcano, which straddles a southern ridge in La Palma, an island with 85,000 inhabitants, erupted on September 19, spewing out rivers of lava that have slowly crept towards the sea.
Television images showed a stream of glowing lava entering the water, creating a large cloud of smoke.
Residents of several areas of Tazacorte, a village near the coast, were told Monday to stay at home to avoid harm from the release of toxic gases that can take place due to a reaction between the 1,000 degrees Celsius (1,800 degrees Fahrenheit) molten lava and water.
On Tuesday afternoon, the slow-moving lava flow, which has varied in speed over the past few days, was still around 800 metres (half a mile) from the coast.
A state of natural disaster has been declared on the island, where molten rock has scorched its way across more than 258 hectares (640 acres) of land and destroyed 589 properties
Ramon de la Rocha POOL/AFP/File
Residents were warned to stay home due to "the possibility that there will be a small shock when the magma enters the seawater, and that this small shock causes vapours which can be toxic," stressed Miguel Angel Morcuende, technical director of the Canary Islands Volcanic Emergency Plan (Pevolca).
- Homes destroyed -
Experts say the entry of lava into the seawater could cause explosions and a fragmentation of the molten rock like gunshots.
"Inhalation or contact with acid gases and liquids can irritate the skin, eyes and respiratory tract, and may cause breathing difficulties, especially in people with pre-existing respiratory diseases," Involcan warned.
The two last eruptions on La Palma, in 1949 and 1971, killed a total of three people, two of them from gas inhalation.
A state of natural disaster has been declared on the island, where the molten rock has so far scorched its way across more than 268 hectares (660 acres) of land and destroyed 656 buildings, according to the European Union's Copernicus Earth Observation Programme.
Residents were warned to stay home due to "the possibility that there will be a small shock when the magma enters the seawater, and that this small shock causes vapours which can be toxic," stressed Miguel Angel Morcuende, technical director of the Canary Islands Volcanic Emergency Plan (Pevolca).
- Homes destroyed -
Experts say the entry of lava into the seawater could cause explosions and a fragmentation of the molten rock like gunshots.
"Inhalation or contact with acid gases and liquids can irritate the skin, eyes and respiratory tract, and may cause breathing difficulties, especially in people with pre-existing respiratory diseases," Involcan warned.
The two last eruptions on La Palma, in 1949 and 1971, killed a total of three people, two of them from gas inhalation.
A state of natural disaster has been declared on the island, where the molten rock has so far scorched its way across more than 268 hectares (660 acres) of land and destroyed 656 buildings, according to the European Union's Copernicus Earth Observation Programme.
The eruption has forced the evacuation of more than 6,000 people from their homes DESIREE MARTIN AFP/File
The government on Tuesday released 10.5 million euros ($12.3 million) in aid for victims of the eruption, in particular to buy housing for those whose homes were engulfed in lava.
The eruption has forced the evacuation of more than 6,000 people from their homes but has not killed or injured anyone.
The lava flow has destroyed several roads, with the Canaries regional head Angel Victor Torres estimating last week that the damage to land and property would exceed 400 million euros.
Since it erupted, the volcano has been spewing huge columns of smoke and ash reaching several hundred metres high, disrupting air traffic.
Domestic flights were cancelled on Friday and the airport was closed the following day.
The airport has since reopened but flights remain suspended.
Experts estimate the eruption could last for several weeks, or even months.
Like other islands in the archipelago off the northwest coast of Africa, La Palma relies mainly on the cultivation of bananas and tourism.
© 2021 AFP
The government on Tuesday released 10.5 million euros ($12.3 million) in aid for victims of the eruption, in particular to buy housing for those whose homes were engulfed in lava.
The eruption has forced the evacuation of more than 6,000 people from their homes but has not killed or injured anyone.
The lava flow has destroyed several roads, with the Canaries regional head Angel Victor Torres estimating last week that the damage to land and property would exceed 400 million euros.
Since it erupted, the volcano has been spewing huge columns of smoke and ash reaching several hundred metres high, disrupting air traffic.
Domestic flights were cancelled on Friday and the airport was closed the following day.
The airport has since reopened but flights remain suspended.
Experts estimate the eruption could last for several weeks, or even months.
Like other islands in the archipelago off the northwest coast of Africa, La Palma relies mainly on the cultivation of bananas and tourism.
© 2021 AFP
Bright lava flows, smoke pour from La Palma volcano eruption in new Landsat photos
By Samantha Mathewson
By Samantha Mathewson
about 20 hours ago
SPACE.COM
Bright streaks of lava flow through populated parts of the Spanish island of La Palma on Sept. 26, 2021. (Image credit: NASA Earth Observatory images by Lauren Dauphin, using Landsat data from the U.S. Geological Survey)
New satellite images of an active volcano on the Spanish island of La Palma capture vivid streams of lava pouring down the coastal mountain range and nearing the Atlantic Ocean.
The eruption began on Sept. 19 from fissures on the western flanks of the Cumbre Vieja crater on La Palma, which is one of Spain's Canary Islands, located off the coast of northwestern Africa. The Operational Land Imager (OLI) on NASA's Landsat 8 satellite captured glowing lava flows snaking across the island in images taken on Sunday (Sept. 26), a week into the eruption.
"After Cumbre Vieja split open and began erupting on Sept. 19, 2021, a slow-moving wall of basaltic lava began bulldozing its way through populated parts of one of the Canary Islands," according to a statement from NASA's Earth Observatory. "Lava flows have destroyed nearly 400 homes, covered dozens of kilometers of roads, and consumed farmland on the island of La Palma as they creep down the western flank of the volcanic island toward the ocean."
The Landsat 8 satellite images offer a natural-color view of lava streaming through the communities of El Paraiso and Todoque, along with clouds of white smoke rising from the area. The hot, molten lava spewing from the eruption glows red in the satellite imagery, while a dark, black crust appears in areas where the lava has cooled at the surface.
The satellite observations from Sept. 26 also captured infrared views of the volcanic eruptions, revealing the hottest parts of the red hot lava flowing down the slopes of the crater.
Smoke rises from the active volcano eruption of the Cumbre Vieja crater on the Spanish island of La Palma on Sept. 26, 2021. (Image credit: NASA Earth Observatory images by Lauren Dauphin, using Landsat data from the U.S. Geological Survey)
"Many of the white rectangular features near the coast are greenhouses. The dark green areas along the coast are crops, likely fields of bananas," according to the statement. "The volcanic plume streaming toward the northeast contains a mixture of ash, sulfur dioxide and other volcanic gases."
Volcanic activity briefly slowed in the early morning hours of Monday (Sept. 27). However, the Cumbre Vieja volcano began expelling lava and smoke again later in the day, and experts from the Volcanology Institute of the Canary Islands (INVOLCAN) suggest that the eruption could persist for weeks or months.
RELATED STORIES:
— La Palma volcano eruption's infernal beauty visible from space in astronaut and satellite photos
— Satellites watch as volcano erupts on Spanish island La Palma after half a century of silence
— La Palma volcano spews lava hundreds of feet in the air, but don't expect a 'mega-tsunami'
Lava flows may soon reach the Atlantic Ocean. Hot lava meeting the sea may trigger explosions and emit clouds of chlorine gas, posing further risk to residents in the area. Those along the eastern shore of the island were ordered into lockdown on Monday after thousands had already evacuated the area in days prior.
The Cumbre Vieja volcano last erupted in 1971, though that event was less significant than the current eruptions, experts say.
Bright streaks of lava flow through populated parts of the Spanish island of La Palma on Sept. 26, 2021. (Image credit: NASA Earth Observatory images by Lauren Dauphin, using Landsat data from the U.S. Geological Survey)
New satellite images of an active volcano on the Spanish island of La Palma capture vivid streams of lava pouring down the coastal mountain range and nearing the Atlantic Ocean.
The eruption began on Sept. 19 from fissures on the western flanks of the Cumbre Vieja crater on La Palma, which is one of Spain's Canary Islands, located off the coast of northwestern Africa. The Operational Land Imager (OLI) on NASA's Landsat 8 satellite captured glowing lava flows snaking across the island in images taken on Sunday (Sept. 26), a week into the eruption.
"After Cumbre Vieja split open and began erupting on Sept. 19, 2021, a slow-moving wall of basaltic lava began bulldozing its way through populated parts of one of the Canary Islands," according to a statement from NASA's Earth Observatory. "Lava flows have destroyed nearly 400 homes, covered dozens of kilometers of roads, and consumed farmland on the island of La Palma as they creep down the western flank of the volcanic island toward the ocean."
The Landsat 8 satellite images offer a natural-color view of lava streaming through the communities of El Paraiso and Todoque, along with clouds of white smoke rising from the area. The hot, molten lava spewing from the eruption glows red in the satellite imagery, while a dark, black crust appears in areas where the lava has cooled at the surface.
The satellite observations from Sept. 26 also captured infrared views of the volcanic eruptions, revealing the hottest parts of the red hot lava flowing down the slopes of the crater.
Smoke rises from the active volcano eruption of the Cumbre Vieja crater on the Spanish island of La Palma on Sept. 26, 2021. (Image credit: NASA Earth Observatory images by Lauren Dauphin, using Landsat data from the U.S. Geological Survey)
"Many of the white rectangular features near the coast are greenhouses. The dark green areas along the coast are crops, likely fields of bananas," according to the statement. "The volcanic plume streaming toward the northeast contains a mixture of ash, sulfur dioxide and other volcanic gases."
Volcanic activity briefly slowed in the early morning hours of Monday (Sept. 27). However, the Cumbre Vieja volcano began expelling lava and smoke again later in the day, and experts from the Volcanology Institute of the Canary Islands (INVOLCAN) suggest that the eruption could persist for weeks or months.
RELATED STORIES:
— La Palma volcano eruption's infernal beauty visible from space in astronaut and satellite photos
— Satellites watch as volcano erupts on Spanish island La Palma after half a century of silence
— La Palma volcano spews lava hundreds of feet in the air, but don't expect a 'mega-tsunami'
Lava flows may soon reach the Atlantic Ocean. Hot lava meeting the sea may trigger explosions and emit clouds of chlorine gas, posing further risk to residents in the area. Those along the eastern shore of the island were ordered into lockdown on Monday after thousands had already evacuated the area in days prior.
The Cumbre Vieja volcano last erupted in 1971, though that event was less significant than the current eruptions, experts say.
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