Volcanic eruption in La Palma – the cone of the volcano has collapsed causing lava flows, extraordinary images captured by a drone

Since the La Palma volcano erupted a week ago, expelled lava has covered 212.1 hectares of the island, completely destroying 461 buildings and infrastructure, according to data from the European Union’s Copernicus programme, which tracks the progress of the lava by satellite. . In the photos below, the event can be watched live via TV Canarias.

Among the last elements noted by scientists, lava flows were observed after the partial collapse of the cone.

This phenomenon is characterized by a mixture at high temperature (several hundred degrees Celsius) of volcanic gases, water vapor and solid particles (fragments of lava, slag, pumice, rocks, etc.).

This type of flow is often the result of the collapse of a volcanic plume. This is exactly what happened on Saturday.

In fact, after the highest seismic energy peak recorded on Friday evening, and after rain of lava and ash fragments, the cone finally broke off on Saturday, September 25, on the southwest side, generating a “massive flow” that headed into the sea.

On Saturday afternoon, members of the Spanish Institute of Geology and Mining (IGME) were able to confirm through a video clip using drones that the cone of the volcano had shattered. As a result, rivers of lava rush down the slopes and form a “huge stream”.

In a video posted on social media, geologist Carlos Lorenzo stated that the photos perfectly show that the cone is broken. “It broke in the southwestern part, leaving a massive flow of very large boulders down the slope towards the sea,” he explains.

In its downward movement, the magma also swept 16.9 kilometers from the road.
Since last Sunday, about 6,000 residents have been evacuated from areas in the path of lava flows and those that could be cut off by advancing magma. This Saturday, a new source of emissions opened west of the main volcanic mouth, as explained by the Volcanic Institute of the Canary Islands.