Spanish Volcano More Active, Spews ‘Giant Lava Fountain’

The Cumbre Vieja volcano, pictured from Tijarafe, spews lava, ash, and smoke, connected the Canary Island of La Palma, Spain, astatine nighttime connected Oct. 10, 2021. (Jorge Guerrero/AFP via Getty Images)

MADRID—A volcano erupting for the past 5 weeks connected the Spanish land of La Palma is much progressive than ever, officials said Monday, aft caller lava flows pursuing a partial illness of the crater threatened to engulf antecedently unaffected areas.

A almighty caller stream of molten stone gushed retired of the Cumbre Vieja volcano aboriginal Monday. The Canary Islands Volcanology Institute described it arsenic “a elephantine lava fountain.”

“We’re successful a caller phase, which is overmuch much intense,” Pedro Hernández, a researcher astatine the institute, told nationalist broadcaster RTVE.

The eruption drove a volcanic ash unreality precocious implicit the land disconnected northwest Africa. Residents watched to spot what absorption the caller lava travel would take, and authorities prepared to determination much radical from their homes.

Prompt evacuations person truthful acold avoided casualties from the eruption, though the lava has wholly oregon partially destroyed much than 2,000 buildings, mostly homes, and covered much than 900 hectares (2,200 acres) of mostly farmland.

Around 7,500 of the island’s 85,500 radical person been forced to fly successful the past 5 weeks.

The rivers of lava rolling down the hillside are up to astir 3 kilometers (almost 2 miles) wide, authorities said.

New fissures and broadside vents cracked unfastened on the volcano’s slopes implicit the weekend, allowing much molten stone to escape.

One main stream of lava has already reached the Atlantic Ocean. Another crushed to a halt erstwhile it entered a built-up coastal neighborhood.

Scientists past week counted much than 800 earthquakes of varying magnitude connected La Palma, astir of them not felt by residents. The strongest had a magnitude of 4.9.

Though astir of the land truthful acold is unaffected by the eruption, parts of the occidental broadside wherever the lava fields are expanding look an uncertain future.