Two new lava streams emerge on La Palma volcano
Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain, Oct 1 (efe-epa).- Two additional lava streams emerged from the volcanic eruption on La Palma in the Spanish Canary Islands on Friday.
The new lava flows formed on the northern flank of the cone and are traveling west, The Geological and Mining Institute of Spain (IGME) reported.
Experts from Spain’s Military Emergency Unit (UME) and IGME are monitoring the new activity closely.
The new lava streams are to the left of the main one which emerged after the Cumbre Vieja volcano in La Palma first erupted on 19 September. It is yet to be seen whether they will converge with the main flow of lava.
An earthquake in the municipality of Mazo, on the Canary Island of La Palma, with a magnitude of 3.5 on the Richter scale was reported at 9:30 pm by The National Geographic Institute (IGN) on Thursday. The seismic activity was registered 13 kilometers underground.
A similar-sized earthquake was also detected in Fuencaliente.
By early Friday morning, the IGN had recorded a further six tremors on the island with magnitudes of between 2.3 and 2.6, four of them in the municipality of Mazo and two in Fuencaliente, and at depths of between 11 and 19 kilometers.
Air quality monitoring stations near the volcano have detected an increase in the volume of sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions although according to the Department of Homeland Security (DSN) this does not represent a health risk for the moment.
In recent hours the volcano has continued its eruptive process “showing episodes of increased and decreased activity and generating an active stream through which magma continues to flow until it reaches the sea in the coastal area of ??Tazacorte”, the latest DSN report added.
The volcano’s lava has already damaged 981 buildings, according to the latest update of the European Copernicus terrestrial-monitoring satellite system.
Scientists continue to monitor the toxic clouds created by the contact between the lava and the ocean.
The Canary Islands Volcano Emergency Plan (PEVOLCA) is keeping precautionary measures in place including maritime and land exclusion zones.
Residents of the coastal towns of Tazacorte, San Borondón, Marina Alta, Marina Baja and La Condesa continue to be locked down and the use of FFP2 masks has been advised. EFE-EPA
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