09/19/2021 12:09
Clarín.com
World
Updated 9/19/2021 1:23 PM
The volcano on the island of La Palma in Spain
began to erupt
after a week of seismic activity, Spanish scientists said on Sunday.
Spanish state broadcaster TVE
showed plumes of black and white smoke
rising from a point on the island's volcanic summit.
The Canary Islands Institute of Volcanology reported the eruption.
Authorities
ordered the evacuation
of residents with reduced mobility from towns near the center of the seismic activity as a preventive measure.
Some will be hosted at a military outpost on the island.
A volcanic eruption has started in Palma.
Photo EFE
On Saturday there was an earthquake of magnitude 3.2 and Sunday one of 3.8
and the scientific committee of the Plan for the Prevention of Volcanic Risk in the Canary Islands said that it was "probable the occurrence of earthquakes felt of greater intensity, which can damage the buildings. '' The expert committee also warned of the risk of landslides in an area of the southwest coast of the Atlantic island.
Evacuation
Emergency services have been ordered to be prepared to evacuate
about 1,000 people
if necessary, authorities said.
La Palma has been on alert for a week, after geologists this week reported
an accumulation of molten rock
under Cumbre Vieja, a dormant volcanic mountain range near the southern tip of the island.
Its last eruption was in 1971.
Geologists have been tracking the accumulation of
an "earthquake swarm"
around La Palma for a week. An earthquake swarm is a group of earthquakes in an area over a short period and can indicate an impending eruption.
The erupting volcano.
AFP photo
Before a volcano erupts, there is a gradual increase in seismic activity that can build up over an extended period.
Volcanic alerts are announced according to the level of risk on a color scale, with green, yellow, orange and red levels.
The current yellow level requires residents in a danger zone to be prepared to evacuate.
It also asks neighbors to report gas, ash,
changes in water level or small tremors
to the emergency services
.
La Palma, which has 85,000 inhabitants, is one of the eight islands of the Canary archipelago.
At their closest point in Africa, they are 100 kilometers (60 miles) west of Morocco.
Volcanic alerts are announced according to the level of risk on a color scale, with green, yellow, orange and red levels.
The current yellow level
requires residents in a danger zone to be prepared to evacuate.
It also asks neighbors to report gas, ash, changes in water level or small tremors to the emergency services.
President
The President of the Spanish Government, Pedro Sánchez,
will travel this Sunday to the island of La Palma,
in the Canary archipelago, where the Cumbre Vieja volcano erupted this afternoon, they announced from Sánchez's office.
"Given the situation generated on the island of La Palma, the President of the Government
has postponed the trip scheduled for today to New York
" to participate in the UN General Assembly, "and will travel this afternoon to the Canary Islands to follow the evolution of the events, "reported the press team of the Spanish government in a statement.
Source: EFE and AP
PB
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