The La Palma volcano eruption continues and doesn’t show signs of stopping soon…
So far more than 3304 hectares have been covered by ash and lava buried about 367.3 hectares. 1005 buildings have been affected of which 880 are completely destroyed. More than 6,000 of La Palma islands’s 85,000 inhabitants have been evacuated.
And there is no signs of decrease right now! Itahiza Domínguez, a specialists in seismology at Spain’s National Geographic Institute (IGNE) believes that there is no way of knowing when Cumbre Vieja will stop emitting magma and gases and as things stand, the volcano could continue errupting for days, weeks or even months.
VIDEO: The Cumbre Vieja volcano in the Canary Islands 🇮🇨 continues to erupt after it began spewing ash and lava on September 19. So far no one has died or been hurt in the eruption, but 6,000 of La Palma islands's 85,000 inhabitants have been evacuated pic.twitter.com/YJOgKZVxaV
— AFP News Agency (@AFP) October 2, 2021
Bad air quality and lockdowns
The eruption currently worsens and gets more dangerous. The bad air quality prompted authorities to introduced a lockdown (stay at home order) for 3,500 residents (Los Llanos de Aridane and El Paso; San Borondon, Marina Alta, Marina Baja and La Condesa already in lockdown).
People are asked to keep doors and windows closed and to disconnect heating and air conditioning. This emergency measure is due to a meteorological phenomenon that prevents the dispersion of gases and keep them at low levels of the atmosphere (inversion).
🔴ATENCIÓN #ErupciónLaPalma
— 1-1-2 Canarias (@112canarias) October 1, 2021
📢#PEVOLCA ordena el confinamiento de la población en las siguientes zonas de Los Llanos de Aridane y El Paso: pic.twitter.com/gNOTGL7iCP
The director of the Gran Canaria emergencies team, Federico Grillo, has shared his concerns about the current situation, describing the eruption as an “emergency never seen before.”
The new vent from a drone:
Vídeo de dron a las 1030 tras la apertura de un nuevo foco de emisión en la fractura / Drone video at 1030 after new vent opened in the fracture zone @ES_UCL @UOBFlightLab @unipa_it pic.twitter.com/q65T157fUg
— INVOLCAN (@involcan) October 2, 2021
Water cut for residents and bananas
The lava from the Cumbre Vieja volcano has melted the only remaining water connection in the lockdown area. Some 3,000 people in Las Hoyas, El Remo, Puerto Naos and La Bombilla run out of water supply.
The breakage of the water pipe also affects the most productive banana farms in the Canary Islands.
The below image was taken on September 30, 2021 and shows you the flow of lava from the volcano erupting on the Spanish island of La Palma.
📷 This image taken by @CopernicusEU #Sentinel2 on 30 September 2021, shows the flow of lava from the volcano erupting on the Spanish island of La Palma 👉 https://t.co/aqVtFYBRt8 pic.twitter.com/T6Vzsij0Fk
— ESA (@esa) October 1, 2021
Meanwhile, many pets have been left stranded and separated from their families since Cumbre Vieja errupted on 19 September as many households forced to quickly evacuate. With that in mind, the Franz Weber Foundation has set up a website, https://animaleslapalma.org which aims to reunite lost pets with their families.
Lanzan una web para reencontrar animales perdidos con sus familias en La Palma https://t.co/e7UU2Wf0G7
— EuropaPress Canarias (@EPCanarias) October 2, 2021
Look at this spectacular smoke ring phenomena in the sky over La Palma. The vortex ring of steam and gas appeared above Cumbre Vieja. Under certain conditions, volcanos can emit smoke and gas rings when emissions are released from a circular vents in short puffs.
El vórtice o anillos de vapor; otra imagen inédita del volcán de La Palma https://t.co/9YseEiMbpe pic.twitter.com/LFOik8cH7C
— El Time (@ElTimeLaPalma) October 2, 2021
Meanwhile, earthquakes remain elevated:
The risk of fires will increase on the island due to extreme temperatures in the next few days. [AS]
