Cumbre Vega volcano eruption, frightening “megatsunami”

Cumbre Vieja erupted on Sunday, after several days of alert – the site is under constant close monitoring.

Spain’s National Geographic Institute on Thursday detected at least 4,222 tremors in a “seismic swarm” in Cumbre Vieja National Park, around the Tinguía volcano, on the southernmost tip of the island of La Palma.

The damned Megatsunami

However, this volcano would likely cause a giant tsunami if, during its eruption, its western face slipped into the ocean.

Such a tsunami can hit all the coasts of the North Atlantic Ocean.

“The volcanic eruption has begun in the Cabeza de Vaca area of ​​El Paso,” according to the island’s local government on Twitter, which has begun carrying out evacuations in the populated areas closest to the volcano.

“Residents have been asked to be very careful and stay away from the eruption area to avoid any unnecessary risks,” he added.

Canary Islands President Angel Victor Torres said the volcano erupted in a wooded area and urged caution.

Plumes of smoke and ash

Large plumes of smoke, ash and lava were billowing from the volcano, according to the first images broadcast by Spanish public television around 4:30 p.m.

Cumbre Vieja has been under close watch for a week due to the massive rise in seismic activity.

The Canary Islands Volcanic Institute has recorded several thousand low-magnitude earthquakes, as high as 4 on the Richter scale, since last Saturday.

Millions of cubic meters of magma moved inside the volcano while the ground rose by about 10 centimeters from the area of ​​the volcano.
The authorities, who had told residents to be prepared for several days, a few hours before the eruption, proceeded to evacuate people with limited mobility in the municipalities closest to the volcano, on this island off the coast of the volcano to the north. -West Africa.

The last eruption of the volcano in 1971

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez confirmed on his Twitter account that “all departments are ready to work in a coordinated manner.”

The Interior Ministry said more than 200 members of the security forces were mobilized by helicopter.

The last eruption of Cumbre Vega occurred in 1971.

Of volcanic origin, the Spanish archipelago of the Canary Islands experienced its last eruption in 2011, this time underwater, on the island of El Hierro.