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Lava from Spanish volcano surges after crater collapse
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It has so far partially or completely wrecked more than 1,000 buildings, mostly homes, destroyed nearly 35 kilometers (about 20 miles) of roads, according to a European Union satellite monitoring agency.
Local authorities prepared to distribute drinking water to homes after the lava flow broke public supply pipes.
The volcanic emergency committee ordered emergency workers and scientists to pull back from the area around the volcano because of poor air quality.
Erupting Spanish volcano turns ‘more aggressive’: officials1 of 6
Lava flows from a volcano on the Canary island of La Palma, Spain on Monday Oct. 4, 2021. Lava flowing from new vents in the Cumbre Vieja volcano range has destroyed so far over 900 buildings and displaced about 6,000 people. The island of 85,000 is in the northeastern corner of the Canary Islands archipelago, in the Atlantic Ocean. (AP Photo/Daniel Roca)
an hour ago
MADRID (AP) — Authorities on the Spanish island of La Palma said Monday they are tightening their surveillance of an erupting volcano, after part of the crater collapsed and unleashed a cascade of more liquid and faster-moving lava.
The crater was “like a dam,” said María José Blanco, a director of the National Geographic Institute on the Canary Islands. When part of its wall collapsed, fiery molten rock poured out from a “lava lake” inside.
The more fluid lava followed the same course as previous molten rock which has now hardened, filling up gaps and spilling over the sides into surrounding countryside.
The river of lava is now 1,250 meters (4,100 feet) wide — 300 meters (1.000 feet) wider than on Sunday, when the crater partially crumbled.
More earthquakes also rattled the island Monday, though officials said they were deep underground and weren’t expected to create new fissures.
The volcano on the Cumbre Vieja ridge, which erupted two weeks ago, has become more explosive after subsiding for several days last week. The Canary Islands Volcanology Institute showed images of football-sized chunks of lava, which it called “volcanic bombs,” hurled hundreds of meters from the crater.
The area covered by lava has grown to more than 413 hectares (1,020 acres) and the new rocky shelf on the shore where the lava meets the Atlantic Ocean now covers almost 33 hectares (around 80 acres), according to Miguel Ángel Morcuende of the regional volcano emergency department.
“It’s not over yet, we don’t even know how long there is to go,” Canary Islands’ regional president Ángel Víctor Torres told public broadcaster RTVE. “We’re in nature’s hands.”
Most of La Palma, where about 85,000 people live, has been unaffected by the eruption. Swift evacuations helped avoid casualties from the eruption.
But the lava is causing significant damage to property, public infrastructure and farmland.
MADRID (AP) — Authorities on the Spanish island of La Palma said Monday they are tightening their surveillance of an erupting volcano, after part of the crater collapsed and unleashed a cascade of more liquid and faster-moving lava.
The crater was “like a dam,” said María José Blanco, a director of the National Geographic Institute on the Canary Islands. When part of its wall collapsed, fiery molten rock poured out from a “lava lake” inside.
The more fluid lava followed the same course as previous molten rock which has now hardened, filling up gaps and spilling over the sides into surrounding countryside.
The river of lava is now 1,250 meters (4,100 feet) wide — 300 meters (1.000 feet) wider than on Sunday, when the crater partially crumbled.
More earthquakes also rattled the island Monday, though officials said they were deep underground and weren’t expected to create new fissures.
The volcano on the Cumbre Vieja ridge, which erupted two weeks ago, has become more explosive after subsiding for several days last week. The Canary Islands Volcanology Institute showed images of football-sized chunks of lava, which it called “volcanic bombs,” hurled hundreds of meters from the crater.
The area covered by lava has grown to more than 413 hectares (1,020 acres) and the new rocky shelf on the shore where the lava meets the Atlantic Ocean now covers almost 33 hectares (around 80 acres), according to Miguel Ángel Morcuende of the regional volcano emergency department.
“It’s not over yet, we don’t even know how long there is to go,” Canary Islands’ regional president Ángel Víctor Torres told public broadcaster RTVE. “We’re in nature’s hands.”
Most of La Palma, where about 85,000 people live, has been unaffected by the eruption. Swift evacuations helped avoid casualties from the eruption.
But the lava is causing significant damage to property, public infrastructure and farmland.
It has so far partially or completely wrecked more than 1,000 buildings, mostly homes, destroyed nearly 35 kilometers (about 20 miles) of roads, according to a European Union satellite monitoring agency.
Local authorities prepared to distribute drinking water to homes after the lava flow broke public supply pipes.
The volcanic emergency committee ordered emergency workers and scientists to pull back from the area around the volcano because of poor air quality.
Lava flows from a volcano on the Canary island of La Palma, Spain, Saturday Oct. 2, 2021. An erupting volcano on a Spanish island off northwest Africa has blown open another fissure on its hillside. Authorities were watching Friday to see whether lava from the new fissure would join the main flow that has reached the sea. The new fissure is the third to crack open since the Cumbre Vieja crater erupted on La Palma island Sept. 19. (AP Photo/Daniel Roca)
By DANIEL ROCA and BARRY HATTON
By DANIEL ROCA and BARRY HATTON
October 2, 2021
LOS LLANOS DE ARIDANE, Canary Islands (AP) — An erupting volcano on a Spanish island off northwest Africa blew open two more fissures on its cone Friday that belched forth lava, with authorities reporting “intense” activity in the area.
The new fissures, about 15 meters (50 feet) apart, sent streaks of fiery red and orange molten rock down toward the sea, parallel to an earlier flow that reached the Atlantic Ocean earlier this week.
The volcano was “much more aggressive,” almost two weeks after it erupted on the island of La Palma, said Miguel Ángel Morcuende, technical director of the Canary Islands’ emergency volcano response department.
LOS LLANOS DE ARIDANE, Canary Islands (AP) — An erupting volcano on a Spanish island off northwest Africa blew open two more fissures on its cone Friday that belched forth lava, with authorities reporting “intense” activity in the area.
The new fissures, about 15 meters (50 feet) apart, sent streaks of fiery red and orange molten rock down toward the sea, parallel to an earlier flow that reached the Atlantic Ocean earlier this week.
The volcano was “much more aggressive,” almost two weeks after it erupted on the island of La Palma, said Miguel Ángel Morcuende, technical director of the Canary Islands’ emergency volcano response department.
Overnight, scientists recorded eight new earthquakes up to magnitude 3.5.
The eruption was sending gas and ash up to 6,000 meters (almost 20,000 feet) into the air, officials said.
The prompt evacuation of more than 6,000 people since the Sept. 19 eruption helped prevent casualties.
A new area of solidified lava where the molten rock is flowing into the sea extends over more than 20 hectares (50 acres).
Officials were monitoring air quality along the shoreline. Sulfur dioxide levels in the area rose but did not represent a health threat, La Palma’s government said.
However, it advised local residents to stay indoors. It also recommended that people on the island wear face masks and eye protection against heavy falls of volcanic ash.
The volcano has so far emitted some 80 million cubic meters of molten rock, scientists estimate — more than double the amount in the island’s last eruption, in 1971.
The lava has so far destroyed or partially destroyed more than 1,000 buildings, including homes and farming infrastructure, and entombed around 709 hectares (1,750 acres).
La Palma, home to about 85,000 people who live mostly from fruit farming and tourism, is part of the volcanic Canary Islands, an archipelago off northwest Africa that is part of Spain’s territory.
The island is roughly 35 kilometers (22 miles) long and 20 kilometers (12 miles) wide at its broadest point. Life has continued as usual on most of the island while the volcano is active.
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Hatton reported from Lisbon, Portugal.
The lava has so far destroyed or partially destroyed more than 1,000 buildings, including homes and farming infrastructure, and entombed around 709 hectares (1,750 acres).
La Palma, home to about 85,000 people who live mostly from fruit farming and tourism, is part of the volcanic Canary Islands, an archipelago off northwest Africa that is part of Spain’s territory.
The island is roughly 35 kilometers (22 miles) long and 20 kilometers (12 miles) wide at its broadest point. Life has continued as usual on most of the island while the volcano is active.
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Hatton reported from Lisbon, Portugal.
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