La Palma volcano news: Thousands evacuated as eruption sparks toxic gas fears
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At least 10,000 people may have to be evacuated after a volcano erupted on the Spanish Canary Island of La Palma on Sunday, as authorities warned lava flowing into the sea could release toxic gas.
Over 160 homes have been destroyed since the eruption with some 6,000 people ordered to leave their homes in villages close to the volcano.
Lava streaming from the volcano is now close to reaching the sea, sparking concerns the flow could mix with saltwater to produce “explosions and the emission of toxic gases”, according to the crisis team at the Canary Islands Volcano Emergency Plan (Pevolca).
Experts have warned that a large explosion of water steam could be triggered once the lava tongue, which has a temperature of more than 1,000C, makes contact with the sea.
The steam plume resulting from the explosion could cause hydrochloric acid and small volcanic glass particles to fall, though it is unclear when this will happen.
Meanwhile, some 360 tourists were evacuated following the eruption and taken to the nearby island of Tenerife by boat on Monday, a spokesperson for ferry operator Fred Olsen said.
Watch: Satellite picks up heat signature from volcano eruption
Satellite footage picked up the heat signature from the volcano eruption on La Palma.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) released satellite footage capturing the “heat signature” in the form of a red dot from the Cumbre Vieja volcano.
Scientific agency to investigate eruption site
Spain’s Higher Council for Scientific Research (CSIC) has dispatched several research teams to investigate the eruption of the Cumbre Vieja volcano.
In a statement on Tuesday morning, the agency said: “Scientific work is proving crucial to provide an early response to the situation, through the civil protection plan.”
The CSIC said that teams belonging to the Geological and Mining Institute of Spain (IGME-CSIC), Institute of Natural Products and Agrobiology (IPNA-CSIC) and the Spanish Institute of Oceanography (IEO-CSIC) were all carrying out chemical analysis at the scene.
Through their work, they will hope to calculate the impact of the volcano on island biodiversity and on the impact of the arrival of lava flow to the sea.
Authorities to ask for EU financial aid for rebuild
The head of the Canary Islands’ regional government has said that authorities will ask for European Union financial aid to help rebuild following the devastation wreaked by the La Palma volcanic eruption.
Angel Victor Torres said damage already amounted to much more than 400 million euros, which qualifies the archipelago for emergency EU aid.
He described the region as a catastrophe zone and said he would request money to rebuild road and water supply networks and create temporary accommodation for families who had lost their homes as well as their farmland and sometimes their livelihoods.
Meanwhile, authorities said the pace of the lava’s advance appeared to have slowed and didn’t expect it to reach the sea before Wednesday at the earliest, Spanish private news agency Europa Press reported.
Opening of new fissures due to earthquake is ‘unpredictable’, says expert
Volcanology expert Stavros Meletlidis, from Spain’s National Geographic Institute, has told Spain’s RNE radio that the opening of new fissures due to the eruption is “unpredictable”.
Mr Meletlidis said that the opening of another fissure would depend on “the volume of magma and gases” - and that it remained unclear when the lava would reach the sea.
“It can accelerate very quickly, especially when the topography changes... or it can stop on a plain for several hours,” he said.
“You have to see how both the main flow and the secondary flow are developing.
“The further the lava is from the source, the slower it goes because it loses impulsion from the new matter coming out.”
Hotel forced to evacuate 500 guests as lava spreads
A hotel was forced to evacuate some 500 guests as lava poured down the street towards its main building.
The Sol La Palma, a four-star hotel, rushed guests out of their rooms as the molten rock spread through the island following the eruption late on Sunday.
CEO Gabriel Escarrer said all 500 guests had been evacuated to safety - though it is unknown if they have been transferred Tenerife or another location on La Palma.
Escarrer tweeted: “Our hug and encouragement to all the Palma residents, clients and collaborators of the SolLaPalma hotel, safe after being evacuated preventively in the great operation coordinated by the Authorities.
“A 10 for our people, we hope you can return to paradise soon!”
EU ‘has available funds’ to help La Palma
The European Commission has “available funds” to help residents of La Palma island following Sunday’s devastating volcanic eruption.
Virginijus Sinkevicius, the EU Commissioner for the Environment, Oceans and Fisheries, said Brussels is “more than willing to offer the available funds” when requested by the Spanish government.
At least 103 hectares of farm have been destroyed by the flow of lava, while it is feared up to 10,000 people may have to be evacuated.
Earlier, the head of the Canary Islands’ regional government Angel Victor Torres told reporters that he would seek EU financial aid as the island attempts to rebuild.
Around 6,000 people have had to flee their homes, says government
About 6,000 people on La Palma have been evacuated so far and 183 houses damaged following Sunday’s volcanic eruption, government spokeswoman Isabel Rodrguez said after a Cabinet meeting in Madrid.
Meanwhile, officials said a river of lava was bearing down on the neighbourhood of Todoque, where more than 1,000 people live and where emergency services were preparing evacuations.
The lava is gradually closing in on the more densely populated coastline after moving downhill across the island’s countryside. Scientists have warned that the lava flows could last for weeks or months.
The volcano has been spewing out between 8,000 and 10,500 tons of sulphur dioxide a day, the Volcanology Institute said.
Spain’s King and Queen ‘to visit island’ on Thursday
Spain’s King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia are due to visit the affected area on Thursday, according to a report.
Royal sources told the AS newspaper that the monarchs will meet local governmental authorities, residents and emergency services affected by the eruption.
It follows the announcement that Pablo Casado, the leader of Spain’s conservative Popular Party, will visit La Palma on Wednesday.
Prime minister Pedro Sanchez visited the site of the eruption on Monday and praised scientists monitoring the volcano on La Palma, who he hailed as “fundamental” to preventing casualties.
Families rush to retrieve belongings as lava spreads
Families rushed to retrieve belongings from their homes and escape the advancing lava on Tuesday following the eruption of the volcano on La Palma.
Residents in the area of Los Llanos de Aridane were given one hour to pack up and flee as the molten rock spread towards the sea.
Regional leader Angel Victor Torres said emergency services were powerless to stop the lava’s “inexorable” advance to the coast and that more homes, churches and agricultural land would be destroyed.
It is feared that as the lava hits the sea, it could create a cloud of toxic gases and possibly explosions as the molten rock cools rapidly.
Explained: What are the dangers of the lava reaching the sea?
Meteorologists have raised the alarm today over the advance of the lava spewing from the volcano on La Palma amid fears that it could trigger the release of toxic gases after reaching the ocean.
According to the US Geological Service, there are four main dangers of lava making contact with the sea.
These include the “the sudden collapse of new land and adjacent sea cliffs into the ocean, explosions triggered by the collapse, waves of scalding hot water washing onshore”.
Their warning adds that “a steam plume that rains hydrochloric acid and tiny volcanic glass particles downwind from the entry point” is also a possibility.
The lava was expected to reach the sea at 8pm on Monday but its advance has since slowed down, with officials uncertain as to when it might reach the coast.
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