- Earthquake swarm of 4,222 tremors detected near the Tenegula volcano on the island of La Palma.
- The Canary Islands officials issued a yellow alert – the second in a four-level system.
- Spain’s National Geographic Institute has warned that more intense earthquakes are expected in the coming days.
The regional government officials in the Spanish Canary Islands have issued a warning of a possible looming volcanic eruption, after Spain’s National Geographic Institute (IGN) detected an ‘earthquake swarm’ of 4,222 tremors near the Teneguía volcano on the island of La Palma.
The Canary Islands officials issued a yellow alert on Tuesday – the second in a four-level system, warning of a potential earthquake.
Today, the assessment has been updated to state that, while the officials do not believe an immediate eruption is about to occur, the situation could change quickly.
IGN has also warned that “more intense earthquakes” expected “in the coming days.”
“We cannot make a short-term forecast, but everything indicates that it will evolve into earthquakes of larger magnitudes that will be more intense and felt by the population,” the director of the IGN in the Canary Islands, María José Blanco, said.
As of Thursday, 11 million cubic meters (388 million cubic feet) of magma have been “injected” into the interior of the Cumbre Vieja National Park near the Teneguía volcano, according to the Canary Islands Volcanology Institute, causing the ground to rise by 6cm (2in) at its peak.
The volcano last erupted in 1971, causing damage to properties and the nearby beach, and killing one fisherman, though densely populated areas and surrounding tourist sites were not affected. After the previous eruption, seismic activity calmed down, resuming in 2017, with recent days seeing an increase in tremors.
Akụkụ ndị ọzọ nke Canary Islands are also home to active volcanoes, including Tenerife’s Teide, which hasn’t erupted since 1909, and Lanzarote’s Timanfaya, which last blew in the 19th century.
