Island Inhabitants Threatened by Volcano Spewing Molten Rock and Rivers of Lava
A volcano on the Spanish island of La Palma that erupted in September is currently spewing molten rock and threatening the island’s inhabitants, prompting evacuations.
Rivers of lava were flowing from the volcano, which erupted on Sept. 19, following two earthquakes that struck the island in just two days, The Associated Press reported.
The Canary Islands Volcanology Institute described the flows of molten rock as “a true lava tsunami.”
‘LAVA TSUNAMI’: Scientists describe gushing river of molten rock from erupting volcano as “a true lava tsunami” as second 4.5 magnitude earthquake in two days rattles Spanish island of La Palma. https://t.co/8UyfbmOtao pic.twitter.com/7407P7zKcy
— ABC News (@ABC) October 15, 2021
Over 300 people were evacuated from the island on Thursday, with a total of roughly 1,200 people evacuated since Tuesday and 7,000 in total since the eruption began, according to the AP.
#erupciónenLaPalma | Nos siguen llegando imágenes de personas que deciden saltarse los controles y sacarse fotos muy cerca del volcán, algo que esta sancionado
No solo ignoran los peligros que tiene la erupción sino también ponen en riesgo a los equipos de emergencia pic.twitter.com/gvheje34QM
— RTVC (@RTVCes) October 15, 2021
La Palma is part of the Canary Islands archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean off of the west coast of Spain.
The island has a population of roughly 85,000, according to the AP.
Superada por el sur la montaña de La Laguna, el frente de colada avanza entre plataneras con un espesor de unos 7 metros / Once La Laguna mountain southern slope has been crossed, the lava flow front advances between banana plantations with an average thickness of 7 meters pic.twitter.com/5IAhLPHz7E
— INVOLCAN (@involcan) October 15, 2021
Ash from the volcano previously caused the closure of the island’s airport, according to Euronews, and lava flow now covers around 680 hectares, or nearly 1,700 acres, according to Spanish news site AS.
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