LA PALMA, Spain, Sept 19 (The Remnants) – A volcano erupted on the Spanish Canary Island of La Palma on Sunday, sending fountains of lava and a plume of smoke and ash into the air from the Cumbre Vieja national park in the south of the island.
Authorities had already begun evacuating the infirm and some farm animals from the surrounding villages before the eruption, which took place on a wooded slope in the Cabeza de Vaca area at 3:15 p.m. (1415 GMT), according to the islands’ government.
Immediately after the eruption, the municipality urged residents in a statement to “exercise extreme caution”, and stay away from the area and off the roads.
The population of nearby villages were told to go to one of five centres to be evacuated, and soldiers were deployed to help.
Spanish television showed fountains of lava shooting into the sky, and plumes of smoke could be seen from across the island.
There had been more than 22,000 tremors this week in the Cumbre Vieja area, a chain of volcanoes that last had a major eruption in 1971 and is one of the most active volcanic regions in the Canaries.
The earliest recorded volcanic eruption in La Palma took place in 1430, according to the Spanish National Geographical Institute (ING).
In 1971, one man was killed as he was taking photographs near the lava flows, but no property was damaged.
Terrifying videos: The Cumbre Vieja volcano finally erupts on La Palma after more than 6,600 earthquakes in 8 days
News from La Palma, Canary Islands, where La Cumbre Vieja started erupting at 15:15 local time (14:15 GMT) after a seismic crisis with more than 6600 earthquakes during the last 8 days and a vertical ground deformation that reached 15 cm.
Teneguía volcano in La Palma in Spain’s Canary Islands erupted on Sunday at 3.15pm in the Montaña Rajada mountains (Cabeza de Vaca), in the municipality of El Paso.
A small tremor hit the Las Manchas neighborhood before the volcano spewed out a great plume of smoke and ash.
An eruptive fissure is developing, producing lava fountains and lava flows.
🌋Aquí en directo. https://t.co/YU5duc9KLl
— Alberto Fierro (@albertofierroal) September 19, 2021
Evacuation of people living in the nearby area is ongoing. The population of nearby villages were told to go to one of five centers to be evacuated and soldiers were deployed to help.
