The volcano on La Palma continues to rule the island: Thousands of houses have already been destroyed. A video now shows the eruption of the volcano.
Update from Monday, December 6th, 2021, 2:50 p.m.: Since mid-September it has been rumbling in the volcano in the Cumbre Vieja on the La Palma archipelago. After the first eruption, lava flows, smoke and clouds of gas emerge from the mountain of fire. The government has now drawn up an interim balance sheet and estimates the damage caused to date at more than 842 million euros.
Almost 2,800 buildings are said to have destroyed the 1,300 degree hot lava, including churches, schools, supermarkets and irrigation systems. 1140 hectares of land are covered by a meter-thick layer of ash, reports the state television broadcaster RTVE. Around 7,000 residents had to flee from the destructive lava flows and leave their homes behind.
An end to the natural disaster is not yet in sight. The volcano on La Palma is still active and repeatedly emits lava and smoke. New recordings from the foot of the volcano published on Twitter document its eruption. The threatening earthquake began around 12 p.m. local time and thick clouds of smoke rose from the mouth of the mountain into the sky – only a few kilometers from the city of Las Manchas. “The explosions are audible”, the volcanological institute of La Palma comments on her Twitter video. The background noise of the mountain has become even louder in the past few hours, it is said.
Volcano on La Palma: Lava a few meters from the village
Update from Saturday, 04.12.2021, 4.10 p.m.: A newly created lava flow has approached the village of La Laguna on the Canary Island of La Palma. According to a report by the German Press Agency (dpa), the residents were evacuated in mid-October. According to experts, it is still unclear whether he will reach the place.
By and large, however, volcanic activity is steadily declining. Only a little lava and smoke are currently emerging from the main chimney. However, the effects of the eruption can still be felt on a regular basis: the area around the volcano was shaken by a particularly large number of earthquakes last week. More than 370 tremors were counted within 24 hours, the state television broadcaster RTVE reported on Wednesday (01.12.2021), citing the authorities of the Spanish region. That is a new record. Since the earthquakes take place at a depth of 30 to 40 kilometers, there is no need to worry.
Since the volcano erupted in the Cumbre Vieja in the south of the island on September 19, the lava has already buried 1,163 hectares and destroyed 2,790 buildings. This emerges from a recent assessment by the European Copernicus earth observation system. Around 7,000 people had to leave their homes weeks ago.
Volcanic eruption on La Palma: Huge gas cloud – authorities impose curfew
Update from Tuesday, 11/23/2021, 4.40 p.m.: On the Canary Island of La Palma a new curfew has been imposed because a new lava flow from the active volcano hit the sea water. As a result, toxic and noxious vapors are produced. As the emergency service and the regional government announced on Monday evening (November 22nd, 2021), around 3,000 residents from neighboring communities are affected. The German press agency reports.
In addition, a huge gas cloud formed from volcanic ash, which, among other things, severely affects air traffic. The airport of La Palma was temporarily closed and all flights canceled. For several weeks now, the lava flows have been moving slowly, but the activity of the volcano in the southern Cumbre Vieja mountain range is steadily declining, according to experts. However, an early end of the explosive activity is not to be expected.
Update from Sunday, 11/21/21, 2:27 p.m.: Ash clouds and ash rains on the island of La Palma have resulted in flight operations at the airport on the Canary Island being discontinued. When operations can resume depends on the ash that is currently being ejected from the Cumbre Vieja, said an Aena spokesman when asked by the AFP news agency. The airports of the other Canary Islands are currently not affected by the closure.
The volcano that erupted two months ago on the Canary Island of La Palma has so far caused damage totaling up to 700 million euros, according to official estimates. “We are still in the middle of it (in the disaster)”, the Canarian Prime Minister Ángel Víctor Torres was quoted in the newspaper El País on Friday.
The damage was increasing from minute to minute, it was said. The island in the Atlantic Ocean off the west coast of Africa, which belongs to Spain, has almost 85,000 inhabitants. Since the volcano erupted on September 19, the lava, which can be up to 1,300 degrees Celsius, has destroyed more than 2,600 buildings, according to a recent assessment by the European Earth observation system Copernicus.
Volcanic eruption on La Palma: 300 earthquakes a day shake the island
Update from Friday, 11/19/2021, 11:44 a.m.: More than 300 earthquakes shook the Canary Island of La Palma within 24 hours on Wednesday (11/17/2021), reports the Spanish media. The volcanic eruption on La Palma has been going on for two months – there is currently no end in sight. Due to the earthquake, the volcanic activity of the Cumbre Vieja increased further on Thursday (November 18, 2021) and on Friday night (November 19, 2021).
The earthquakes on La Palma do not break off on Friday either. A quake with a magnitude of 5.1 was reported in the morning, reports the Instituto Geográfico Nacional (IGN). The volcanic eruption is the longest eruption on the Atlantic island off the west coast of Africa for more than 340 years.
More than 2,600 buildings have so far been destroyed or damaged, reports the Tagesspiegel. In addition to lava flows and ash clouds, a tornado had recently formed at the foot of the volcano.
Volcanic eruption on La Palma: In addition to lava flows and ash clouds – a tornado is formed
First message from Tuesday, 11/16/2021, 3:28 p.m .: La Palma – Spectacular pictures and a great risk for people – the volcanic eruption on La Palma never ends. Now a new phenomenon appeared on Monday (November 15, 2021) alongside lava flows and ash clouds: A tornado formed at the foot of the volcano.
The formation of the ash tornado is due to the high temperatures generated by the lava around the volcano and the changing weather conditions, reports El Time. The spectacle was captured on video. El Time published one of the videos on Twitter.
The volcano creates a small TORNADO at the base of its cone, visible from miles away. The high temperatures generated by the lava and the changing meteorology have led to the creation of this ash and dust tornado in the Las Manchas area. #VolcandeLaPalma pic.twitter.com/tSLlgMU28E
– El Time (@ElTimeLaPalma) November 15, 2021
On Sunday, 09/19/2021, the volcano Cumbre Vieja erupted on the Canary Island of La Palma. Since then, he has been a major threat to residents and visitors to the island for weeks. A first death was also recently known. A 72-year-old was found on Saturday (November 13th, 2021) in his house in the restricted area in the south of the island, reported the state TV broadcaster RTVE.
Volcano on La Palma: a spectacle of great beauty and danger
So far, nobody has been killed by the volcanic eruption that has been going on for almost two months. However, the lava flows of the Cumbre Vieja have already devastated more than 1000 hectares of land and destroyed thousands of buildings. The people of La Palma are at the mercy of the raging volcano.
According to the report from El Time, the airport operator on La Palma Aena did not plan to stop operations. However, four flights were canceled in the morning because of the ash clouds. A total of 30 flights are scheduled for today. The volcanic quake remains more or less stable, reports volcanodiscovery.com. It remains as high as in the past seven days. Although the eruption was slowing down very slowly, there was no evidence from the data that the eruption was nearing its end. (n / A)
Picture list: © Gabriel Trujillo via www.imago-images.de
