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La Palma: the Cumbre Vieja volcano gave no truce in 2021

2021-12-21T18:30:48.648Z


The Cumbre Vieja volcano on La Palma has made a continuous eruption since September 2021 and although in December it seems to have subsided, since it began it has left only destruction.


A trip to the impressive crater of the Cumbre Vieja volcano 1:08

(CNN Spanish) -

The Cumbre Vieja volcano in La Palma has made a continuous eruption since September 2021, and although in December it seems to have subsided, since it began it has left thousands of displaced people, has destroyed hundreds of hectares and has buried places surrounding areas with ash, turning some places into great deserts.

  • Cumbre Vieja's fury subsides and leaves black sand beaches on La Palma

La Palma volcano eruption on October 10, 2021. (Credit: Marcos del Mazo / Getty Images)

These are the most shocking images after the September eruption:

Fury of the volcano on La Palma is still intact a month later 2:43

La Palma volcano continues to wreak havoc

New lava flows from the Cumbre Vieja volcano caused molten lava to flow downhill at speeds of up to 1 meter per second in early December, according to the Canary Islands Institute of Volcanology.

On the west side of the island off the coast of Africa, lava continued to threaten remaining buildings in the city of La Laguna, which was evacuated more than a month ago.

This house is almost buried by ashes on La Palma.

The town's church is now just one kilometer from the widest lava flow, moving toward the Atlantic Ocean, according to a map released Tuesday by the Canary Islands government's volcano crisis committee.

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The eruptions began on September 19 and have not stopped since.

Lava reached the Atlantic in two places on the island's west coast, falling off cliffs into the ocean and then adding to the coast with a total of 48 hectares of lava spillway, the committee said.

Rivers of lava wash away rocks on La Palma.

The ravages of the La Palma Volcano

But it has erased much more.

The lava has destroyed 1,134 hectares, a third of which is farmland.

The flow has eaten away banana and avocado plantations vital to the island's economy.

It has also destroyed more than 1,200 homes and 300 other buildings, the committee said.

More than 6,000 people have been displaced on the island with a population of around 80,000.

La Palma is one of the smallest Canary Islands in Spain, located off the west coast of Morocco.

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The Cumbre Vieja volcano emits a column of smoke and ash after it erupts, on the Canary island of La Palma, on September 19, 2021. Look at the most impressive images in this gallery (Photo by DESIREE MARTIN / AFP via Getty Images)

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Satellite image of the lava path of the Cumbre Vieja volcano.

(Credit: NASA)

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A column of smoke rises from the cooling lava in Los Llanos de Aridane, on the Canary island of La Palma, on September 20, 2021, following the eruption of the Cumbre Vieja volcano.

(Photo: DESIREE MARTIN / AFP via Getty Images)

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Lava from the Cumbre Vieja volcano flows on the island of La Palma, in the Canary Islands, on September 23, 2021. (Photo: RAMON DE LA ROCHA / POOL / AFP via Getty Images)

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The Cumbre Vieja volcano erupted after several days of seismic activity, prompting the evacuation of the surrounding inhabitants, according to authorities.

(Photo: DESIREE MARTIN / AFP via Getty Images)

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The location of the Cumbre Vieja volcano in the Canary Islands, Spain.

(Illustration: Edel González)

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The Cumbre Vieja volcano spews a column of smoke, ash and lava.

(DESIREE MARTIN / AFP photo via Getty Images)

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Cumbre Vieja is located along a ridge in the south of the island of La Palma.

(DESIREE MARTIN / AFP photo via Getty Images)

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Image of lava spewing from the Cumbre Vieja volcano on the Spanish island of La Palma.

(Photo: Reuters / Jose Padron)

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The last eruption of the Cumbre Vieja volcano occurred in 1971. The Spanish archipelago of the Canary Islands experienced its last eruption in 2011, that time underwater, near the island of El Hierro.

(DESIREE MARTIN / AFP photo via Getty Images)

Videos show rivers of lava and destruction

The lava flows from the Cumbre Vieja volcano continue to glow.

These are new images that a cadron managed to capture.

Unstoppable the lava rivers of the Cumbre Vieja volcano 0:50

In addition, authorities reported this week that the volcano has a new mouth or crater.

And that it has expelled so much lava that specialists have called it a 'lava tsunami'

New mouth alert at Cumbre Vieja volcano 0:52

A thermographic camera recorded in detail the eruptions of the volcano on La Palma and left these images captured on a night reconnaissance flight.

The Volcanological Institute of the Canary Islands managed to determine that the eruptive process is in an effusive phase.

Thermographic camera records eruptions in detail 0:46

The La Palma volcano melted mountains in its wake.

From another angle, the magnitude of the volcanic activity is observed: the postcard gives the impression that they are mountains that are melting.

See how the lava from the La Palma volcano melts mountains in its path 0:42

The interior of the lava bomb that released the Cumbre Vieja volcano - active since September 19, 2021 - is a rock melted by the high temperatures of the eruption, which then solidifies again when descending the slopes.

Lava bombs are formed by the expulsion of large fragments during this type of phenomenon and are thus classified by exceeding a diameter of 64 millimeters.

Look inside the lava bombs of the Cumbre Vieja volcano 0:52

La Palma volcano

Source: cnnespanol

All news articles on 2021-12-21

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