A volcanic eruption is underway on the Spanish island of La Palma.
- Are you on La Palma? Feel free to contact Dagbladet on telephone 24 00 00 00, e-mail [email protected] or sms to 2400.
Photos and videos from the place show that it says black smoke against the sky, and also that lava flows down the mountainside.
The eruption has so far accelerated the evacuation of around 1,000 people.
SMOKE: Pictures from the place on Sunday afternoon show lava erupting from the volcano with huge clouds of smoke. Photo: Desiree Martin / AFP / NTB
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– Just started
It was around 3pm, local time, that the eruption in southern La Palma began.
– The eruption has just begun, writes the Canary Islands volcanic institute on Twitter.
La Palma is one of the Canary Islands and is located in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Morocco. Measuring stations have recently shown increased seismic activity, and a number of small earthquakes could indicate that an eruption was approaching, writes NTB.
ACTIVE: Measuring stations have recently shown increased seismic activity, and a number of small earthquakes could indicate that an eruption was approaching. Photo: Miguel Calero Miguel Calero / EPA
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– Do not visit the area
The eruption has now been going on for about an hour, and now the research institute Involcan, which researches volcanoes in the Canary Islands, has a clear call.
– Follow the authorities’ advice, and DO NOT SEEK THE AREA near the outbreak, they write in large boxes on Twitter.
WARNING: – Follow the authorities’ advice, and DO NOT SEEK THE AREA near the outbreak, the research institute Involcan writes with big box saws on Twitter. REUTERS / Borja Suarez
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– Stronger earthquakes
The last time there was an outbreak on La Palma was in 1971.
According to Reuters, only around 40 people with reduced mobility were evacuated as a precaution on Sunday. They were moved from villages in the area where earthquake activity is strongest, to a military outpost.
On Sunday, an earthquake with a magnitude of 3.8 was also registered. The authority warns that there may be even stronger earthquakes.
The island of La Palma, which should not be confused with Gran Canaria’s largest city Las Palmas, is not a major tourist destination unlike several of the other islands in the region. It has around 83,000 inhabitants, according to NTB.
The island is relatively small, and has an area of 706 square kilometers
BEFORE THE OUTBREAK: This photo of the volcano was taken on September 17. Photo: Borja Suarez / Reuters / NTB
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– Can change quickly
Björn Lund, researcher in geophysics at the Swedish seismological station network, follows the development.
He says SVT that activity in the area increased significantly during the day.
– So far, the outbreak is relatively small. But that can change very quickly. You see in pictures from there that there are lava fountains and that rocks are splashing out, he says to the channel.
The case is being updated.
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