La Palma volcano eruption: summary 2 october
La Palma volcano eruption: live updates
Headlines
- New vents open up on Cumbre Vieja.
- Lava has now reached the ocean, leaving behind a path of destruction.
- Around 1,000 buildings have been destroyed by the lava and 6,000 people evacuated.
- Spain approved $12.2 million aid package for La Palma.
- Spanish volcanologist speaks to what happens when the lava reaches the sea on La Palma.
- Active volcanoes in the Canary Islands: an overview.
- When was the last volcanic eruption in the Canary Islands?
- The question on many minds: What happens when the lava reaches the ocean?
La Palma volcano eruption: live video
We have a live video of the ongoing eruption of the Cumbre Vieja volcano:
Copernicus releases new data on lava flow
Copernicus, the EU’s satellite observation programme, has released updated figures on the damage caused by the Cumbre Vieja volcano eruption, basing these statistics on imaging taken on Saturday at 13:02 CEST.
According to Copernicus, a total of 1,074 buildings have now been affected - 946 of which have been destroyed - and the lava flow now covers 397.5 hectares.
Nature can be both awesome and terrifying at the same time as seen in this footage from La Palma island.
Though there have been no recorded deaths or injuries - due to the swift evacuation effort - the destruction of businesses and homes has affected many as volcanic activity ramps up on the island of La Palma.
More amazing drone footage captures the force and power of the Cumbre Vieja volcano on La Palma island.
According to the latest news from Reuters the stay at home order has been lifted for residents of La Palma.
New drone footage gives clear perspective on the level of destruction caused by the eruption of the Cumbre Vieja volcano on La Palma island.
The future continues to be very uncertain for La Palma's residents as the Cumbre Viejas volcano's eruptions persist.
More than 6000 people have been evacuated with no return date set. With new vents opening up on Friday the volcano continues to spew millions of cubic meters of molten rock into the air. Further destruction is expected as evacuated residents are forced to sit and wait.
With over 800 buildings destroyed and many people displaced since it's initial eruption on September 19th, the Cumbre Vieja volcano on La Palma island has taken a massive toll on Spain's Canary islands.
As the days continue to accumulate there appears to be no let up in volcanic activity on the island of La Palma in Spain's Canary Islands!
Cumbre Vieja still emitting high levels of SO2
Cumbre Vieja continues to release high levels of sulphur dioxide, reaching up to 2,330 cubic tonnes of the gas per day. Daily carbon dioxide levels outside of the volcano have been recorded at 1,870 tonnes. SO2 levels have gradually dropped in readings made at Tazacorte, Los Llanos and El Paso, and are currently below 20 microgrammes/m3.
Spanish PM to visit La Palma on Sunday
Spanish Prime Minister will pay another visit to La Palma on Sunday to gain a clearer idea of the situation on the island following the erruption of Cumbre Vieja. Sánchez will meet with the Canary Islands Volcanic Emergency Committee at 11:00 hours and address the media at midday.
Daring reporter burns hand after touching molten lava
A brave journalist decided to find out just how hot the molten lava seeping out of Cumbre Vieja is during a live report, the video has been circulating for a few days. He may or may have not known that volcanic lava can reach temperatures of up to 1,200°C and takes several days if not months to cool...
Examples of volcanic particles being emitted by Cumbre Vieja
Here's an example of some lapilli stones, particles of molten ash which have been falling from the skies in southern La Palma since Cumbre Vieja began errupting. The clean-up operation continues in full swing in some parts of the island which have been covered in lapilli like the ones in this image. (Photo: Ángel Medina/EFE).
Spectacular smoke ring phenomena seen in La Palma
A vortex ring of steam and gas appeared above Cumbre Vieja, the latest in a series of stunning images which the volcano erruption has left us over the past fortnight. Under certain conditions, volcanos can emit smoke and gas rings when emissions are released from a circular vents in short puffs.
Website launched to reunite lost pets with their families
Many pets have been left stranded and separated from their families since Cumbre Vieja errupted on 19 September with many households forced to quickly evacuate. With that in mind, the Franz Weber Foundation has set up a website, https://animaleslapalma.org which aims to reunite lost pets with their families.
Erruption showing no signs of stopping soon
Itahiza Domínguez, a specialists in seismology at Spain's National Geographic Institute (IGNE) believes that there is no way of knowing when Cumbre Vieja might stop emitting magma and gases and as things stand, the volcano could continue errupting for days or weeks. (Picture: JUAN MEDINA/REUTERS).
Cumbre Vieja volcano continues to erupt
The Cumbre Vieja volcano on La Palma continues to erupt after it began spewing ash and lava on September 19. So far no one has died or been hurt in the eruption, but 6,000 of La Palma islands's 85,000 inhabitants have been evacuated.
How many active volcanoes are there in the Canary Islands?
The Canary Islands in Spain were formed hundreds of thousands of years ago by volcanoes, and some are still active.
Air quality on La Palma worsens
The volcano on La Palma continues to spew lava and thick clouds of black smoke, and authorities told several thousand residents of the island to stay home because of worsening air quality.
Where are most volcanoes located?
Volcanoes are found the world over, forming mainly at the edges of tectonic plates but can also arise over “hot spots” such as the one that created the Hawaii Islands. In total there are potentially some 1,500 active volcanoes on Earth according to the US Geological Survey. Of those, 51 are now in continuing eruption status, the most recent On La Palma in the Canary Islands.
Many of those volcanoes are located on the “Ring of Fire” which is located all along the Pacific Rim. However, the greatest number of volcanoes are hidden from view deep under water on the ocean floor.
Help continues to arrive on La Palma
The World Central Kitchen have been supplying locals with food since the eruption took place on September 19. During an emergency evacuation, the WCK team had to help locals pack their belongings as lava flowed over their homes.
The European Union Earth Observation Programme took this image of the volcano on September 30. It shows the flow of lava from the volcano erupting on the Spanish island of La Palma.
'Stay home' order for local residents
Authorities told several thousand residents of La Palma to stay home because of worsening air quality as the erupting volcano on the Spanish island spewed red-hot lava and thick clouds of black smoke, Reuters reported.
Emergency services issued a lockdown order for people in Los Llanos de Aridane and El Paso, two of the worst affected towns.
"The new lockdown is as a consequence of the meteorological conditions... that prevent the dispersion of gases and keep them at low levels of the atmosphere," emergency services said in a statement. They said the lockdown would affect around 3,500 people.
Those affected have been told to keep their doors and windows closed and to disconnect heating and air conditioning to prevent outside air from entering.
Lockdowns had already been ordered in the areas of San Borondon, Marina Alta, Marina Baja and La Condesa.
On Friday, lava flowed from a new vent in the volcano, which the Canaries Volcanology Institute described as a new "focus of eruption".
The volcano was experiencing "intense activity", Miguel Angel Morcuende, director of the Pevolca response committee, told a news conference on Friday. But he also put the eruption into the context of the wider island.
"Less than 8% of the island is affected by the volcano. The rest is leading a normal life," he said.
An ever-changing volcanic situation
The director of the Gran Canaria emergencies team, Federico Grillo, has shared his concerns about the current situation surrounding the volcanic eruption is subjecting the entire system to an "emergency never seen before."
He asserts that with the behaviour of the volcano changing all the time, every day brings with it new challenge, with the strategies that have worked one day not serving their purpose the next.
Measures adopted due to the risk of fire
The weather forecast for the coming days is of a significant rise in temperatures. In view of this situation, Cabildo de La Palma has adopted the following measures:
- Closure to the public of all recreational areas
- Access to the forest tracks closed; reserved only for those surveillance, prevention and fire services
- Network of footpaths out of bounds
- Reminders to be issued and fires to be continue to be prohibited in agricultural and forestry operations
- Suspension of any authorization issued by the Environmental Area on the network of trails
Latest footage of new fracture
In this drone capture, taken around 10:30 am local time (5:30am ET) you can see the smoke coming out of the new vent.
New land mass created in La Palma
More drone footage shows the lava from Cumbre Vieja reaching the ocean and releasing steam and gases into the air.
The other result of this is a change in the overall land mass of the island, a topic of land ownership that has been discussed intensively by all concerned parties.
We are all clear about what is the priority: helping the citizens of La Palma. Residents must be calm and proud of their institutions
More info on new volcanic vents
The new lava flows were observed by members of Spain’s Emergency Military Unit (UME), which has been deployed to assist with the crisis, and by the IGME.
“At 2.20am on October 1, two new lava flows were formed, which have occupied two ravines and are heading toward the eastern area,” said Raúl Pérez, from the IGME, who was just a few hundred meters away when the new vent appeared. “The question is whether these are going to join the main lava flow.”
The new vent is the third to have opened since the volcano erupted on September 19. This means that, counting the crater, there are now four sites that are emitting lava. Up until now, most of the lava has been flowing to the sea from a vent that emerged last week.
El País brings you more.
There is concern about the path of this new flow towards the sea, although it is expected to join up with the previous one within the next few hours.
New cracks open up on Cumbre Vieja
Lava flowed from a newly opened crack in the Cumbre Vieja volcano on Spain's La Palma on Friday, Reuters reported, carving a different path from previous flows and raising fears of more destruction, while fine ash forced islanders to don masks and goggles.
A river of red-hot lava snaked downhill from the new fissure, which burst open late on Thursday around 400 metres (1,300 ft) to the north of the primary eruption site.
Multiple vents have opened since the volcano began erupting on 19 Sept but the Canaries Volcanology Institute described the latest opening as a new "focus of eruption".
Satellite images capture the flow of lava in La Palma
New images captured by Copernicus Sentinel-2 show the path the lava took across the island of La Palma in the canary island after a volcano erupted over two weeks ago.
Earlier this week the lava reached the ocean, creating a mass off the side of the island of volcanic rock.
Liquid lava being emitted by volcano
Yesterday that Cumbre Vieja started spurting out lava which was notably less viscous, according to reports made by Spain's Geological and Mining Institute (IGME). The IGME filmed the volcano's activity from a drone with spectacular images showing rivers of liquid lava flowing down carbonized flanks.
Since the initial erruption on 19 September, Cumbre Vieja has released over 80 million cubic metres of magma - double the amount emitted by the neighbouring Teneguía volcano during almost one month of acitivity in the autumn of 1971.
La Palma coastline permanently altered
The shape of La Palma has been transformed forever by the erruption of Cumbre Vieja and the flow of molten lava into the Atlantic Ocean which has formed a peninsula 25 metres in height and extending almost 500 metres out from the mainland.
As of yesterday, officials estimate that just under 1,000 homes have been either damaged or destroyed by the volcanic erruption.
Lava flowing out from four vents on Cumbre Vieja
We heard yesterday that two more vents have opened up on the side of Cumbre Vieja, which means that lava is now being emitted from four openings of the volcano. The two, new recently-formed vents appeared about 600 metres from the crater on the northeastern side. The volcano, which has spewed out over 80 million cubic metres of lava since the first erruption 12 days ago, continues to spring surprises.
How long will La Palma volcano keep erupting?
That question about the continuation of the lava output does not have a clear answer as yet.
As the lava has has now met the ocean in La Palma, experts are saying that "the eruption is not stabilized at all." Some experts are predicting that the eruption could go on for as long as three months.
La Palma volcano eruption: daily welcome
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the ongoing volcanic eruption on the Canary Island of La Palma on Saturday 2 October.
The Cumbre Vieja volcano has been spewing ash and lava since erupting on September 19, destroying hundreds of buildings and forcing the evacuation of thousands of people.
As we edge towards a full two weeks of activity, many are asking how long this could last for...