Tuesday, October 15, 2024

The great volcanic eruption of La Palma in the Canaries

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About 3.10pm on a Sunday there wasbig eruption In the volcanic Cumbre Vieja range, on the island of La Palma, in the Spanish Canary Archipelago, a few hundred kilometers west of Morocco. The local authorities said that due to the eruption of the volcano, from 5 to 10 thousand people were evacuated in various locations near the volcano: at the moment there are no reports of injuries and damage to a few dozen houses.

Sunday’s eruption began from Montana Rajada, which is located in the central part of the island, in an uninhabited wooded area; It was preceded by a slight earthquake that I felt especially in El Paso, a few kilometers away, and it set off with a big explosion. Then the technical committee studying the event explained that lava was seeping out from two slits 200 meters from each other.

During the afternoon, the Civil Guard – the Spanish police – vacated hundreds of homes in the towns of Tazacorte, Fuentalente, El Paso, Mazo and Los Llanos de Aridán, where about 35,000 people live, and advised residents to close the windows. Exterior doors, gas and electric systems before leaving their homes.

The explosion, which was expected by a series of thousands of slight shivers Since last September 11, it has caused some small fires in the wooded area around the volcano. The Spanish agency dealing with aeronautics, Enaire, has recommended banning flights on the island, but for now the ban has not been formalized. The Military Emergency Unit also intervened to manage the situation, at the request of the local government of the Canary Islands to the Ministry of Defense.

During a press conference around 10:30 p.m. on Sunday (11.30 pm in Italy) The head of the Canarian government, Angel Victor Torres, said the volcano is releasing 17 to 20 million cubic meters of lava, which is flowing towards the coast, where it is expected to cause only material damage.

Since the 15th century, when Spain’s conquest of the Canary Islands began, there have been seven volcanic eruptions on the island of La Palma, all in the Cumbre Vieja park area. The most recent were San Juan volcano in 1949, and Tinguya volcano in 1971, lasting 47 and 24 days, respectively.

– Read also: Kraffts, reckless volcanologists

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