La Palma volcano | news summary for Wednesday 17 November
Cumbre Vieja volcanic eruption: live updates
Headlines
- Cumbre Vieja eruption now active for nearly nine weeks, after beginning on 19 September
- Unfavorable conditions for flights on Thursday due to ash and winds
- Wednesday saw number of tremors spike, double the previous day's count by 6 pm.
- Volunteer worker killed in exclusion zone while cleaning volcanic ash
- Eruption has released enough energy to power Canary Islands for 36 years
- Surface area of lava flow now covers over 1,042 hectares
- More than 2,600 buildings have been damaged by the lava flow
- Delta formed in Atlantic Ocean by lava flows now covers over 40 hectares
- 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
Video images of the dust devil which apeared in La Palma
ABC News provides video of the dust devil that appeared near the Cumbre Vieja volcano earlier this week.
Drone footage captured by the Spanish government shows the new land mass that has been formed as the lava from the Cumbre Vieja volcano met the ocean. Tomorrow, 19 November marks 2 months since the begining of the crisis. With activity seeming to slow down, some geologists are preidcting that the evvnet could end within the next few days or weeeks.
New video capturing just how much volcanic ash has fallen on parts of La Palma are released. While many are lucky to not have had their houses destroyed by the path of lava, may never be able to recover their property as it is covered under a couple feet of ash.
The Spanish government has teams working around the clock to clear the ash, but it is just too much in some areas to keep up with, Should it rain it may become impossible to remove as it the mixture of ash and water comes close to a cement like consistency.
Images of a dust devil captured close to the erruption site
AccuWeather reports on new images that show a "large dust devil" gaining energy close to the volcano's crater. A dust devil are mostly harmless, unlike a torando.
The destruction conitnues
With the eruption going on two months, some estimate that millions of dollars in damage have been done by the volcano. Until the crisis ends, government officials will not be able to evaluate the full scale of the destruction.
Geology Hubs reports that based on the acitivity seen in La Palma, the volcano is most likley in its waining stages and could end soon. However, geologists are unable to preduct when exactly that day will be.
Two months into the crisis, the Cumbre Vieja volcano claims its first victim
Authorities are still investigating the cause of death of the seventy-two-year-old local man who was found dead in his home earlier this week. Some believe that he may have fallen through his roof while trying to remove ash that had pilled up.
The director at Pevolca, the national emergency committee running the volcano response, Miguel Ángel Morcuende, told the press that "Professional cleaning staff are working at all times [...] But it is evident that this is not enough and it is clear that many locals want to clean their roofs.” Read more from Gizmodo.
Live footage from the La Palma eruption
The Cumbre Vieja volcano on the Spanish island of La Palma is still active after eight weeks. The incredible scenes from the volcano show the extent if the clear-up job that will be on the hands of the authorities over the coming weeks and months.
Dust Devil visible at Cumbre Vieja volcano
New footage from ABC News shows clouds of a 'Dust Devil' which have formed at the summit of the Cumbre Vieja volcano on the Spanish island of La Palma.
Volcanic ash raining down on La Palma
The ash plume from the Cumbre Vieja volcano remains immense and has been wreaking havoc on La Palma, blanketing communities and even bringing down greenhouses on banana plantations due to the weight of the ash accumulating.
Spanish Military Emergency Unit continuing clean-up operation
In this handout photograph taken and released by the Spanish Military Emergency Unit (UME), UME members clean the ash-covered areas in Las Manchas, following the eruption of the Cumbre Vieja volcano.
It has been nearly two months since Cumbre Vieja began erupting, forcing more than 6,000 people out of their homes as the lava burnt its way across huge swathes of land on the western side of La Palma.
Photo: AFP PHOTO / HANDOUT/ SPANISH MILITARY UNIT (UME)
Latest Copernicus data
The EU's Copernicus earth observatory creates a daily map of the eruption on La Palma using radar imagery. In its 52nd update, the observatory shows that lava coverage on the island has increased by almost 18 hectares over the past 36 hours to 1,042 hectares while five more buildings have been destroyed, taking the total to 2,623.
Cumbre Vieja eruption generates tornado
The power of the volcano on La Palma is such that the high temperatures being caused by the eruption combined with changeable weather in the archipelago led to Cumbre Vieja creating its own micro-climate on Tuesday with the formation of a tornado of ash particles and dust.
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.
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.
Aerial photos of volcanic expansion
The Cumbre Vieja volcano on La Palma started erupting on September 19.
Aerial footage provided by the Spanish Mining and Geology Institute shows the extent of the damage caused by the lava, which has reached the Atlantic Ocean and solidified, forming a delta some 40 hectares in size.
Schools close again as air quality deteriorates
Spanish media RTVE reported on Tuesday that the poor air quality on La Palma has led to the cancellation of classes at the island's schools again.
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 INVOLCAN technicians on Tuesday going about their work to monitor the situation of the volcano to inform local authorities and the public.
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.
La Palma eruption calming 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 downward 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 on the horizon short-term with the volcano continuing its Stombolian-type ejections of lava.
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 on Tuesday.
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.
Cumbre Vieja's vast energy output
According to the Canary Islands Volcanology Institute, the energy emitted from the La Palma eruption since 19 September stands at 286.2 terawatts, 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.
Cumbre Vieja eruption live updates: welcome
Hello and welcome to our live blog for Wednesday 17 November 2021, bringing you the latest news and information on the ongoing eruption of the Cumbre Vieja volcano on La Palma.