On La Palma, the volcano continues to spew fire, lava and ash. Now several strong earthquakes are shaking the Canary Islands.
Update from Wednesday, 03.11.2021, 10:44 am: “Volcanic bombs”, lava flows and earthquakes: The volcano on La Palma is still restless and its eruption is life-threatening. On Wednesday morning at 7.27 a.m. Canarian time (8.27 a.m. Central European Time, CET) two earthquakes with a magnitude of 4.8 and 5.0 shook the island a few seconds after the other. As reported by the National Geographic Institute (IGN) in Spain, the epicentres were in the municipality of Villa de Mazo, several kilometers east of the Cumbre Vieja volcanic chain.
According to the online portal eldiario.es, these are some of the strongest earthquakes since the volcanic eruption began on September 19. According to the IGN, these earthquakes were felt all over La Palma as well as in parts of Tenerife and La Gomera. A total of around 41 seismic movements had occurred during the night. The airport company AENA reported in the morning via Twitter that all Canarian airports are in operation. At La Palma airport, however, all flights have been canceled for today’s Wednesday.
Also on Tuesday evening (02.11.2021) there were again eruptions in the Cumbre Vieja on La Palma. The Canary Islands Volcanic Institute (Involcan) shared, among other things, a video of an eruption at 7 p.m. Canarian time (8 p.m. CET).
La Palma: Life-threatening “volcanic bombs” roll down the slopes
First message from Tuesday, 02.11.2021, 23:05: La Palma – The volcano on La Palma continues to keep the island population in suspense. Lava makes its way inexorably and leaves destruction. The debris that was spewed out of the volcano during the eruption is life threatening.
As the Spanish newspaper El Independiente reports, in addition to the gigantic amounts of ash that the volcano emits, there are also so-called “volcanic bombs”. This is a pyroclastic material that is ejected with virtually every volcanic eruption. People in the immediate vicinity are in acute danger of death as they can be killed or run over.
Volcano on La Palma spews “volcanic bombs”
Videos in social networks show volcanic bombs on the slopes of the volcano on La Palma. An impressive recording received a lot of attention. You can see how a ball, much larger than a soccer ball made of hot lava, rolls down the volcano. The surface of the chunk appears gray and unspectacular. On closer inspection, however, you can see the glowing lava inside. Geologist Harri Geiger shared the video and received more than 600,000 views.
On Tuesday afternoon (November 2nd, 2021) the volcanological institute of the Canary Islands reported that large amounts of volcanic bombs had fallen on the southern slope of the volcano.
Spallation lava bomb coming down from #LaPalmaVolcano on 27 Oct 2021.#CumbreVieja pic.twitter.com/mvKFKn6rme
— Harri Geiger (@harrigeiger) October 28, 2021
La Palma: volcanic eruption paralyzes air traffic
Since the beginning of the volcanic eruption on September 19th, the lava, some of which has a temperature of almost 1300 degrees, has destroyed or damaged more than 2700 buildings on La Palma. Already 975 hectares are covered with a layer of lava several meters thick. More than 7,000 people have had to be brought to safety since the volcano erupted. Experts cannot say when the outbreak will end.
Air traffic on the island was paralyzed again on Tuesday. The airport operator Aena announced that all flights to the Atlantic island off the west coast of Africa had been canceled due to large amounts of volcanic ash. In addition, 22 schools were closed because the concentration of sulfur dioxide in the air was too high in some parts of the island, reported the state TV broadcaster RTVE, citing the authorities. (tvd / dpa)
Rubriklistenbild: © Miguel Calero via www.imago-images.de
