La Palma volcano | news summary for Friday 20 November

Binter temporarily stop flights to and from La Palma

Binter confirmed that due to the evolution of the ash cloud billowing out of Cumbre Vieja, all of the carrier's flights have been temporarily stopped - including one flight scheduled for 13:00 hours this afternoon.

Flights will resume as soon as conditions improve. Binter recommend that passengers should consult their web page to check the situation in advance.

Technicians expect new emission points emerge on Cumbre Vieja

Technicians from PEVOLCA gave an update on the situation on La Palma and have not ruled out new emission points emerging on Cumbre Vieja volcano. Lava flows numbers 4 and 7 remain active and have been extending over new ground during the past 24 hours. Seismic activity has been constant and there is a real possibility of a magnitude V or VI earth tremor.

Spanish PM pledges further 4M euros in funds to aid La Palma

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has requested help from the European Union's solidarity fund and announced that a further 4 million euros in funds will go to repair the island's water supply network which has suffered damages following the volcanic erruption on La Palma. He added that the government will request 74.45 million euros in funds from the EU.

IGN image of Cumbre Vieja volcano

This striking image of the erupting Cumbre Vieja volcano was taken today by Spain's National Geographical Institute (IGN):

Aerial images of the eruption

Radio Televisión Canaria has posted these live video images, filmed by a drone, of the Cumbre Vieja eruption and the lava flowing from the volcano:

Binter warn of delays to flights

Local Canary Island airline Binter has warned that flights to La Palma may experience delays or cancellations due to the ever increasing ash cloud that has been developing on Friday as the Cumbre Vieja shows now sign of abating.

La Palma farmers protest

Local banana farmers took to the streets of capital Santa Cruz de La Palma on Friday to complain about the wholesale prices being offered for fruit at present. They fail to understand why they're being paid for fruit at 30 cents which is later sold to the consumer for three euro.

Lava advances at 20m per hour

Worries on the island increase as a new lava flow has intensified and starts to make its way towards homes and agricultural areas.

No-one capable of estimating end of eruption

The Cumbre Vieja volcano (La Palma) celebrates two months since its eruption began without there being any certainty that it will end soon. Just 48 hours ago, experts acknowledged that there was there was an increase in seismic activity.

Spanish PM visits La Palma again

Spanish Prime Minster Pedro Sanchez visited the stricken island of La Palma again on Friday evening, this is the seventh occasion the PM has visited the island amidst complaints from locals that the promised aid is failing to make its way through to those affected by the eruption.

906 million euro, estimates cost of Cumbre Vieja damage

906,804,903.72 euros... this is the latest calculation made by the Government of the Canary Islands on public and private damages caused by the Cumbre Vieja volcano in its two months of eruption.

5.1 tremor felt in Mazo

There has been daily tremors and minor earthquakes on the island of La Palma since Cumbre Vieja erupted on 19 September with the largest tremor taking place today in Villa de Mazo with the quake registering 5.1 on the Richter scale.

Cumbre Vieja rages on

The latest footage of the eruption from the Canary Islands Volcanology Institute, taken on Friday afternoon, shows the volcano is still very active. Overnight, another section of the top of the volcano collapsed, sending new lava streams down the mountain.

Life returns to Cumbre Vieja

Following the news earlier this week that a colony of bees had survived the eruption by sealing themselves into their hive, local news media brings us these images of some of the indigenous fauna on La Palma tentatively testing out their former stomping ground.

Another partial collapse of Cumbre Vieja

Overnight on Thursday another part of Cumbre Vieja's upper reaches collapsed, sending fresh lava flows streaming down the western side of the volcano.

Lava flow advance and delta extension

This graphic from the Spanish Forestry Service shows the advance of the lava flows on La Palma on Thursday (in red) and the delta that has been formed in the Atlantic Ocean (the area highlighted with a yellow line).

La Palma from space

The EU's Copernicus earth observatory has released this image of the advance of the lava fields on La Palma since Cumbre Vieja started to erupt two months ago.

Largest earthquake yet recorded on La Palma

The Spanish National Geographic Institute (IGN) has revised the magnitude of an earthquake that took place at 1am on La Palma near Mazo, raising it to 5.1, and as such the biggest tremor yet recorded since Cumbre Vieja began to erupt.

The seismic movement occurred at a depth of 37 kilometers southwest of Mazo, and its intensity has been recorded at IV-V on a scale of XII, the IGN said.

The earthquake was felt in the neighboring islands of Tenerife, La Gomera and El Hierro.

Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

Cumbre Vieja on Friday morning

Involcan have released their daily morning image of the erupting Cumbre Vieja, which shows little sign of slowing down two months after the volcano became active on 19 September.

Evolution of lava flows

This graphic posted by the Spanish Forestry Service shows the evolution of the lava flows from Cumbre Vieja and the formation of a delta in the Atlantic Ocean.

Maria Jose Blanco, the spokesperson from the Volcanic Emergency Plan of the Canary Islands (Pevolca), has said there has been a drop in the volcanic activity, including the levels of sulphur dioxide and seismic activity. However, experts said there was still no indication of when it will come to a complete end, reports Euractiv.

Cumbre Vieja is currently “in a more stable process and a lower level of activity,” Blanco said, stressing that there is no end in sight for the volcanic eruption.

Full story

Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

Over 300 earthquakes recorded on Thursday

The Cumbre Vieja volcano registered 319 earthquakes in a single day on Thursday - the highest number of earthquakes in 24 hours since it began erupting on 19 September.

Most of the 300+ earthquakes recorded during the 24-hour period occurred at a depth of between 10 and 15 kilometres in Mazo and Fuencaliente on the island of La Palma.

Time-lapse video of eruption

The Canary Islands Volcanology Institute (Involcan) has published this time-lapse video, taken over a period of 13 minutes, of the erupting Cumbre Vieja volcano:

Spanish PM to return to La Palma

Spain's prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, is to visit La Palma on Friday in what will be his seventh trip to the island since the Cumbre Vieja volcano began erupting in mid-September.

La Palma lava continues its advance

Security and emergency services of the Canary Islands have published images of the new lava flow located between the mountains of Todoque and La Laguna.

The latest lava flow is reported to be advancing at a speed of 70 metres per hour.

Real Madrid to play in charity game for La Palma

Real Madrid have announced that they will play in a charity game against local side CD Tenerife to raise funds for those affected by the Cumbre Vieja eruption. The two sides will field teams of club legends in the game to be held on December 17.

The funds will be allocated to those affected by the eruption of the Cumbre Vieja volcano, which has already been active for two months. The match will be held at the CD Tenerife stadium, Heliodoro Rodríguez López, which has a capacity of just over 22,000 spectators .

Cumbre Vieja eruption live updates: welcome

Hello and welcome to our live blog for Friday 19 November 2021, bringing you the latest news and information on the ongoing eruption of the Cumbre Vieja volcano on La Palma.