La Palma volcano | news summary for Tuesday 16 November
Cumbre Vieja volcanic eruption: live updates
- Cumbre Vieja volcano eruption now active for almost two months, after beginning on 19 September
- Volunteer worker killed while cleaning volcanic ash
- Surface area of lava flow now covers over 1,043 hectares
- More than 1,460 buildings have been severely damaged by the lava flow
- New lava headland formed in Atlantic Ocean off Los Guirres beach next to original delta
- Around 7,000 of the island's 85,000 residents have been evacuated
Useful information
- AS speaks to expert in volcanologyabout the effects of lava reaching the sea
- The lowdown on the active volcanoes on the Canary Islands
- Where are most volcanoes foundon Earth?
La Palma volcanic eruption: live footage
Cumbre Vieja's vast energy output
According to the Canary Islands Volcanology Institute, the average energy emitted from the La Palma eruption stands at to 286.2 terawatts per hour, equivalent to 35.9 times the energy demand of the Canary Islands in 2020 and 1,158 times that of La Palma. That is to say, enough energy to power the entire Canary Islands for 36 years.
3D visual of lava field growth on La Palma
Pedro Suárez has been tracking the expanding lava field created by the eruption on La Palma using 3D graphics. Here's is one of his latest showing how the extent of the lava has increased over the past week.
Lava flow on La Palma lights up the night sky
The Spanish national weather service in the Canary Islands provides a snapshot of the Cumbre Vieja lava flow illuminating the night sky over La Palma.
La Palma eruption decreasing but no end in sight
The technical director of Pevolca, Miguel Ángel Morcuende, gave an update on the volcanic activity on La Palma at a press conference Tuesday. The indications from the eruption show a dwonward trend in activity with decreasing sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions and more stable seismic activity. However, he warned that there is no end to the eruption visible in the short term with the volcano continuing its Stombolian-type ejections of lava.
A view of La Palma from the ISS
The crew on the International Space Station sent back this picture of the Cumbre Vieja eruption on La Palma.
Just another day's work on Cumbre Vieja
The eruption on La Palma has far exceeded the initial expectations for a short-lived event. Cumbre Vieja began ejecting lava on 19 September and has not show significant signs of letting up. In recent days there has been an average of 30 to 40 earthquakes per day.
Here is some footage from the "dead zone" of the INVOLCAN technicians doing their work to monitor the situation of the volcano to inform local authorities and the public.
Live pictures from La Palma
They are live images of the eruption in La Palma. In recent hours, fewer earthquakes have been recorded but ash emission has increased, reports TVE.
Spanish newspaper interview with those who have been forced to leave La Palma
Many people have been forced from the island due to the eruption, as the employment and housing situation begins to bite, reports El Pais.
“So we get away a little from all this, from this air that cannot be breathed. When I went out with my friends we would go to Santa Cruz [on the other side of La Palma] to stop breathing in the ash. I am very sad to leave”, says first year high school student Tahiry Concepción.
Germán Rodríguez is also staying in Tenerife after the lava devoured his house. He ended up at the house of a friend's father: "We were up to eight people." Soon after, the advance of the magma also dislodged that house. “I was with my wife, my four dogs and my two turtles without knowing where to go. I asked if we could enter the hotels for the evicted, but they don't allow animals and I don't want to be separated from them. And I tried to rent something, but I'm not stupid. They are asking outrageous prices for flats where you have the toilet next to where you fry an egg ”.
Ash still piled up in La Palma streets
The volcano, the lava, the ash and a difficult life for the residents of La Palma 59 days later.
Air quality affecting life on La Palma
New images of the volcano of La Palma, report Spanish media RTVE. Poor air quality forces classes to be suspended again, as smoke continues to billow out of the volcano.
Explosive activity recorded Monday afternoon
Involcan - this footage of the volcano shows explosive activity at 15:45 Canarian time on Monday.
Volcanic expansion shown by helicopter photos
The Cumbre Vieja volcano on La Palma started erupting on September 19.
Aerial footage shows the extent of the damage caused by the lava, which has reached the ocean on the Canary island and solidified.
La Palma eruption: lava creates new delta as it reaches the sea
The lava delta being discussed is that of new rivers formed, as the molten rock continues to spew forth from the volcano.
The stream of lava from the Cumbre Vieja volcano, which began erupting in mid-September, reached the water near the popular surf spot of Los Guirres beach just before 2 am last Wednesday, according to the Transport Ministry.
A video uploaded by Spain's Geology and Mining Institute showed rivers of molten rock sliding into the sea and large rocks rolling down a cliff, causing a cone of debris to emerge from the waterline.
Development of seismic activity on La Palma
This video display shows the seismic activity on La Palma around the Cumbre Vieja volcano since 1 October courtesy of the National Geographic Institute of Spain.
Deptartment of National Security update on lava flow surface area
In its latest update, Spain's Department of National Security says the lava flowing from the erupting Cumbre Vieja volcano has now grown to a total surface area of 1,019.79 hectares. The body also provided an update on the two headlands formed by the lava of the coast of La Palma, stating: "The two lava deltas have practically joined together and have reached a size of 40.90 hectares."
La Palma eruption: Cumbre Vieja volcano claims life of volunteer
Almost two months after it first erupted, the Cumbre Vieja volcano on La Palma has claimed its first victim. According to reports from Spanish news wire EFE, a 70-year-old man was killed while working as a volunteer cleaning up volcanic ash when the roof of the building he was on collapsed. The vast amounts of ash – which consists of fragments of volcanic rock and glass – being emitted from Cumbre Vieja has been carpeting buildings across La Palma, leading the Spanish government to mobilize military personnel to help with the clean-up.
The volunteer, who had the necessary authorization from the Island Council of La Palma to carry out the work on other properties, was on the roof of his own home in the neighbourhood of Corazoncillo on Friday when the accident occurred.
Cumbre Vieja eruption live updates: welcome
Hello and welcome to our live blog for Tuesday 16 November 2021, bringing you the latest news and information on the ongoing eruption of the Cumbre Vieja volcano on La Palma.