NewsLa Palma disaster: volcanic eruption causes hundreds of tremors...

La Palma disaster: volcanic eruption causes hundreds of tremors every day

The volcanic eruption on La Palma never ends. The volcano in Cumbre Vieja recently triggered hundreds of tremors. It will remain active for a long time.

Update from Thursday, 02.12.2021, 11:45 a.m.: The volcano in the Cumbre Vieja on the Canary Island of La Palma has threatened the surrounding regions since its eruption on September 19th – and it will continue to do so. This is what volcanologists conclude from the activities of the volcano over the past 24 hours. The state television broadcaster RTVE reports that more than 370 tremors have been counted. The Cumbre Vieja is breaking a record: so many quakes have never been measured in one day since the outbreak in September.

According to experts, the numerous earthquakes indicate that the volcano will remain active for a while. However, there was no reason for concern: The activity was “still low and irregular”, especially fumes are currently coming from the throat of the Cumbre Vieja, said the spokeswoman for the emergency committee, María José Blanco, in front of the press.

Update from Tuesday, 11/30/2021, 4 p.m.: On the Spanish volcanic island of La Palma, a new lava flow threatens the previously spared place La Laguna. The liquid rock, which has a temperature of up to 1,300 degrees, is emerging from a new chimney and is still one and a half kilometers from the said place, reported the state TV broadcaster RTVE on Tuesday (November 30th, 2021). The speed at which the lava rolls towards the sea has decreased somewhat and the direction can still change. The approximately 1200 residents of La Laguna had already been evacuated in October.

Asche- und Lavawolken kommen am 19. November aus dem Vulkan in der Cumbre Vieja.

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Ash and lava clouds come from the volcano in Cumbre Vieja on November 19th.

More than 100 light to medium earthquakes struck the Atlantic island on the west coast of Africa in the past few hours. The most violent was felt on the whole island and had a strength of 5.0.

Since the eruption of the volcano more than ten weeks ago, the lava has destroyed or damaged 2,748 buildings, according to new information. Most recently, a total of 1115 hectares were covered by a meter-thick layer of lava. An area of more than 1500 soccer fields. Since the eruption, more than 7,000 residents have had to hide from the volcano. An end to the outbreak is still not in sight.

La Palma: pressure of the eruption is too big – high lava fountain emerges

Update from Sunday, 11/28/2021, 11:24 a.m.: The volcano on La Palma is seething. At one point the pressure is apparently so great that new gullies open through which the lava exits. The volcanologist Itahiza Doínguez, who works at the Instituto Geográfico Nacional (IGN), shared a video on Sunday (November 28, 2021) on Twitter.

According to Doínguez, the first new exit point opened at around 3 a.m. east of the cone. Another was to be seen from 7 a.m. Both emit lava flows and piroclasts, solid fragments of crystal or rock. Previously, an increase in volcanic earthquakes was noticeable, which seems to be related to the opening of the new exit points. Because the pressure was reduced as a result, this “volcanic tremor” decreases again.

Volcano on La Palma: observation point may have to be closed

Update from Sunday, November 28th, 2021, 6:55 am: Also on Saturday (November 27th, 2021) the Canarian Institute for Volcanology (Involcan) published impressive pictures of the “lava jet” from the main chimney of the volcano. It shows how a high fountain of lava is hurled out of the volcano.

In the meantime, an official observation point for the volcanic eruption could be closed – because the area of the lava flow known as “number 7” is expanding, reports eldiario.es. According to the newspaper, however, the lava flows “Number 10” and “Number 11” had merged in the south and now no longer threatened to cause any further damage.

Volcano on La Palma: Institute publishes impressive images of “Lava Jet”

Update from Saturday, 11/27/2021, 8.45 a.m.: The volcano on La Palma shows again explosive activity and keeps the Canary Island in suspense. The Canarian Institute for Volcanology (Involcan) published on Friday (November 26th, 2021) new recordings of the so-called “lava jet”, ie the lava fountain from the main chimney of the volcano. It can be seen how the crater spews ever new masses of lava into the night sky with visible pressure.

The lava has buried 1100 hectares of land on La Palma since the eruption began. This is announced by the Earth observation program Copernicus.

Volcanic eruption on La Palma: New lava flow endangers Canary Island

First message from Friday, 11/26/2021: Santa Cruz de La Palma – The volcano Cumbre Vieja has been spitting lava and ash on La Palma for over two months. Now, after several days of stability, it is explosive again. The surge in activity has been linked to an increase in the amount of lava that has invaded the Las Manchas cemetery on the coast. This was reported by the news portal Mallorca-Services on Friday (November 26th, 2021). The cone of the volcano collapsed again on the night of November 18, causing the lava lake to overflow.

The new lava flows are said to have destroyed a total of 11.60 new hectares on the Canary Island. This increases the total area devastated since the beginning of the outbreak to 1,100.44 hectares, which corresponds to 1.55% of the total area of La Palma. The maximum front of the lava tongues should already be 3,350 meters wide, according to the news portal.

Lava fließt aus dem Vulkan Cumbre Vieja. (Archiv)

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Lava flows from the Cumbre Vieja volcano. (Archive)

Volcanic eruption on La Palma – technicians concerned about the course of the new lava flow

The volcanic eruption had already started on September 19th. At that time it had erupted for the first time in 50 years. The Los Ángeles cemetery in the municipality of Los Llanos de Aridane was covered by lava flows for a total of 59 days. Mount Cogote had served as a dam, but the molten rock had flooded it.

The course of the new tongue made of igneous material is particularly worrying for the technicians, as it runs parallel to lava flow 10 – the southernmost – and leads in the direction of El Corazoncillo and Las Manchas de Abajo, according to the news portal Mallorca-Services. Not only are there a large number of houses there, the terrain is also very uneven, which allows the lava to move at greater speed.

Cumbre Vieja volcano: Thousands of hectares destroyed by volcanic eruption on La Palma

Miguel Ángel Morcuende, technical director of the Canary Islands Volcano Emergency Plan (Pevolca), however, pointed out that although the magma is very fluid, it becomes more viscous as it progresses as it meets solid material. This will slow down his progress. The eruption, which has been going on for two months now, has also resulted in the island’s land area being significantly enlarged by lava flowing into the sea. According to analyzes, the island has already grown by 43 hectares.

Since the September eruption, over 1,000 hectares of land and almost 1,500 buildings have been destroyed by the lava flows. The Pevolca estimates that the acreage affected by the lava flows is 340.59 hectares. Of this, 211.19 hectares are said to be banana plantations, 60.02 hectares of vineyards and 26.4 hectares of avocado plantations. Add to this 90 hectares of farms and another 624 hectares (412 hectares of banana plantations, 128 hectares of vineyards and 84 hectares of avocado trees) covered in ash.

Volcanic eruption on La Palma causes great financial damage and stops flights

A total of 1484 buildings are said to have been flooded by the lava flows, as the last update of the cadastral data confirms. Including houses for agriculture, industry, hotels and leisure facilities and public infrastructures. The houses for residential purposes are hardest hit – a total of 1195 are said to have been covered by lava. The damage to the island is said to already amount to around 700 million euros, according to the Tagesschau.

Touristen beobachten den Ausbruch des Vulkans Cumbre Vieja vom Aussichtspunkt Tajuya aus. Der Vulkan Cumbre Vieja, der vor mehr als anderthalb Monaten ausgebrochen ist, ist weiterhin voll aktiv.

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The Cumbre Vieja volcano, which erupted more than a month and a half ago, is still fully active.

The volcanic eruption also paralyzed flights again at the beginning of the week. According to an airport spokesman, all 20 flights had to be canceled last Saturday (November 20, 2021), as the Tagesschau reported. According to the news agency Agence France-Press, air traffic had not yet been restored on Tuesday (November 23, 2021). Because of the suspicion that toxic gases could escape when the lava flows reach the sea, the authorities also imposed a curfew on Monday (November 22, 2021). This was lifted last Tuesday. According to Pevolka, the arrival of the lava flow in the sea water had no effect on people. (acg)

Rubriklistenbild: © Kike Rincón / dpa

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