La Palma volcano summary: 11 November 2021
Cumbre Vieja volcanic eruption: live updates
Headlines:
- Volcano into eighth week of activity, having begun on 19 September
- Lava flow now covers 999.6 hectares and has destroyed 2,605 buildings, per Copernicus
- Around 7,000 of the island's 85,000 residents have been evacuated
- Magnitude 5.0 earthquake registered on La Palma on Thursday
Useful information
- Volcanologist speaks to AS about the effects of lava reaching the sea
- An overview of the active volcanoes on the Canary Islands
- When was the last volcanic eruption on the Canary Islands?
Cumbre Vieja eruption: related articles
Over 1,000 hectares affected by lava flow
According to an update provided by Spain's Department of National Security on Friday, the lava flow emanating from the erupting Cumbre Vieja volcano now covers a surface area of 1,005.8 hectares on La Palma.
A man sweeps volcanic ash from the pavement in La Palma, Spain, this week.
(Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)
Video of eruption from astronomical viewpoint
Late on Thursday, the Canary Islands Volcanology Institute (Involcan) shared these video images of the erupting Cumbre Vieja, and one of the lava flows emanating from the volcano:
Clear up effort continues on La Palma
Teams of cleaners have been clearing ash by the Cumbre Vieja volcano on the island of La Palma. Lava and ash has been spewing from the volcano since 19 September, after weeks of seismic activity, and shows no sign of stopping.
Lava continues to flow through the night
The flow of lava from the Cumbre Vieja volcano on the Spanish island of La Palma is continuing into an eighth week, with emergency services attempting to secure the area wherever possible. Researchers have been studying the volcanic matter but warn that there is no end in sight.
Cumbre Vieja eruption sends lava streaming from collapsed cone
Following the collapse of part of the interior cone of the Cumbre Vieja volcano there has been a massive increase in the size of the lava lake and a swelling of the lava flows spilling down the side of the mountain.
New images from the Canary Islands Volcanology Institute show the vast scale of the chaos caused...
New footage from La Palma volcano
Gran Canaria TV have shared a new video of the conditions on the Spanish island of La Palma, where a volcano has been active for close to eight weeks. Lava continues to spew from at least two mouths on the Cumbre Vieja volcano and thousands of residents have been evacuated.
Navy offers support for La Palma's banana's growers
Spain’s Defense Ministry has announced that the country's navy has been deployed to help farmers on the volcanic island of La Palma reach their lava-surrounded banana plantations.
Two of the lava flows have now reached the sea and have caused chaos for the island's residents and left the local economy grinding to a halt. The navy will be used to help isolated farmers and workers to reach the cut-adrift areas of the fertile island.
Officials maintain that additional evacuation is not neccessary
In recent hours a secondary stream of lava has reached the sea off the coast of the Spanish island of La Palma, where a volcano has been active for over seven weeks. The Cumbre Vieja volcano continues to spew molten rock across the island, but local officials are not thought to be considering any additional evacuation orders.
An emergency services spokesperson told Reuters: "New confinements are not necessary because the populations are far away from the point of contact with the sea that occurred last night."
La Palma eruption: lava creates new delta as it reaches the sea
No new stay-at-home orders as lava flow reaches sea
Local authorities on La Palma have said there are no plans to issue another stay-at-home order after another lava flow reached the sea in a sparsely populated area of the island. When a previous flow reached the Atlantic, local residents were forced to remain indoors due to the emission of gases.
Cumbre Vieja showing few signs of slowing down
There had been hope that the Cumbre Vieja eruption was starting to wane, but a magnitude 5.0 tremor earlier on Thursday and this image captured by the Canary Islands Volcanology Institute suggest the volcano still has plenty of life in it.
Lava forming second delta on La Palma
Another lava flow from the Cumbre Vieja eruption has reached the ocean at the Los Guirres beach, releasing gases as it makes contact with the water as shown in this footage from the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC).
Capturing the sounds of lava entering the sea
INVOLCAN colaborators have been charged with capturing the different sounds associated with the eruption. In this video, they can be seen recording the sound of lava as it enters the sea...
More lava reaches thes sea
This footage posted Local News shows rivers of lava flowing into the ocean, a phenomenon which has so far created hectares of new land along the island's coast.
Where are most volcanoes located?
AS USA take a look at where on Earth most volcanoes are located, and how they are created.
Copernicus provides the latest on La Palma
Copernicus has released the 49th update based on radar imagery:
- Lava now covering 999.6 hectares
- 2,605 buildings now destroyed
More updates as soon as they are released
Magnitude 5 earthquake recorded on Thursday
Another magnitude 5 earthquake was recorded this Thursday morning, and was felt in the neighbouring islands of Tenerife and La Gomera.
This was one of the strongest earthquakes registered on the island since the Cumbre Vieja volcano started erupting on 19 September.
According to www.volcanodiscovery.com, the earthquake hit 36 km below the island this morning at 3.37 a.m. and was felt by thousands of people.
Lava spewed by Cumbre Vieja volcano reaches the Atlantic Ocean at Los Guirres beach in this handout image released by the Spanish Transport Ministry on the Canary Island of La Palma, Spain, November 10, 2021.
Photo: Spanish Transport Ministry via Reuters
Lava cascades into the sea
The footage below shows lava on the Spanish island of La Palma cascading into the sea, almost two months after the Cumbre Vieja volcano first erupted.
Landmass at Los Guirres and volcanic ash deposits
A handful of images published by EFE on Wednesday evening included an aerial view of the lava spilling out over Los Guirres beach and into the Atlantic Ocean. Also clearly depicted are blankets of ash from Cumbre Vieja which have covered in its path over on the western coast of the island.
Lava spill forms new headland
Volcanologist Vicente Soler gave an update on the La Palma volcano on Wednesday evening for Spain's National Research Council.
"Lava continues to be expelled at the same rate as we have seen over the past few days and reached the sea last night where it has formed a second headland. The ash cloud has been losing strength and is being easily blown towards Las Manchas by winds."
Seismic activity increases on La Palma
Itahiza Domínguez, volcanologist at the National Geographic Institute (IGN) confirmed that there was an increase in seismic activity on La Palma on Wednesday compared to previous days.
"We remain far from the levels of activity we saw a few weeks ago but there has been a significant increase in inland areas (30-40 km) where there has been a high number of tremors but of a reduced magnitude than we have seen previously".
Hello and welcome to our live blog for Thursday 11 November 2021, bringing you the latest updates and information on the eruption of the Cumbre Vieja volcano on La Palma.
Despite the fact that many believed it would be short-lived when the lava first started flowing on 19 September, the volcano has yet to let up. Experts had hinted that there may be signs of an end to the eruption, but things are very much still bubbling. We'll keep you up to date with all developments.