Spain on alert: La Palma volcano expels more lava on the island | It erupted on September 19

A new mantle of very liquid lava has arisen on the Spanish island of La Palma, where the Cumbre Vieja volcano has already expelled 80 million cubic meters of magma. since its eruption almost two weeks ago.

According to the Geological and Mining Institute of Spain (IGME), this new lava river started around 02:30 local time (01:30 GMT), after the appearance of a new mouth considered to be very expulsion on the side of the Cumbre Vieja . .

Aerial footage captured by IGME and the Instituto Volcanológico de Canarias (Involcan) showed an impressive river of glowing lava making its way through charred ground.

This new flow is added to the lava which continues to accumulate in the Atlantic Ocean, forming a vast magmatic platform, the area of ​​which exceeds 20 hectares and continues to grow.

Since its eruption on September 19, Cumbre Vieja has expelled “80 million cubic meters of magma,” the president of the regional government of the Canary Islands, Ángel Víctor Torres, told a press conference where he added that this amount is double that emitted in 1971 by the neighboring volcano of Teneguía, once twice as large.

In addition, particles of the material expelled by the volcano reached the Atlantic archipelago of the Azores and caused a reduction in visibility, according to the Portuguese Institute of the Sea and the Atmosphere (IPMA).

La Palma and Punta Delgada, the capital of the Azores, are more than 1,200 kilometers apart, but the wind carries particles from the eruption of the volcano, which have already reached the Portuguese islands “in the form of a sulphate aerosol” , according to the Portuguese agency. .

These “aerosols” contribute to “light scattering” and cause a “significant” reduction in visibility, adds IPMA, especially in areas below 800 meters in altitude.

In this scenario, the “high humidity” recorded in the Azores contributes to increasing the size of the particles, which has resulted in an intense haze in recent hours.

Damage causes

The eruption, which was neither injured nor killed, forced the evacuation of around 6,000 of the island’s 85,000 inhabitants. However, the material damage was considerable and the lava destroyed 870 buildings.

Some 246 hectares of land are currently covered with lava, according to the Copernicus geospatial measurement system.

After traveling four miles during the first days of the eruption, and almost coming to a stop afterward, the flaming lava flow finally reached the sea overnight from Tuesday to Wednesday, generating copious amounts of smoke and smoke. toxic gases.

To prevent poisoning, a security perimeter of approximately 3.5 kilometers has been established, in addition to a maritime exclusion zone of two nautical miles. Authorities on the island have asked residents of various neighborhoods to confine themselves to their homes.

The concentration of sulfur dioxide has increased over the past few hours in Tazacorte, the nearest municipality, where lava reaches the Atlantic, while ash particles have increased in density throughout the region.

However, the air quality is not of concern, said the technical director of the Special Plan for Civil Protection and Emergency Assistance against Volcanic Risks of the Canary Islands (PEVOLCA), Miguel Ángel Morcuende.

Visiting the island on Friday, the Minister of the Presidency, Félix Bolaños, reassured the citizens of La Palma, and affirmed that the reconstruction of the disaster areas would be a “priority” for the government.

For his part, the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, who has already visited the island twice, will return to La Palma on Sunday.