Nature's Island Reclamation
"The eruption has been becoming 'ashier'; today, the plume has been reaching 4000 m and is visible from much of the island."
"Deformation data show inflation overall is continuing although the trend has slowed down, or even decreased temporarily yesterday. Volcanic tremor remains high, but has been showing a slight decrease compared to the past days."
"This suggests that the eruption might be becoming more stable, although it cannot be ruled out that new fissures open and new lava flows might appear."VolcanoDiscovery, Cumbre Vieja volcano eruption
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| View over the area with the vent area and the lava flow this morning (image: Martin Rietze / VolcanoDiscovery) |
The Spanish island of La Palma is continuing to cope with the emergency of an erupting volcano, marking the fifth day where greater numbers of people have been forced to evacuate their homes. Towns are blanketed in ash as residents struggle to contain their fears. Above all, their disbelief at the mass destruction that has taken place and which continues to threaten towns, villages and homes.
"All we can do is cry. We are a small business, we live off all these people who have lost everything.""There are no words to explain this feeling."Nancy Ferreiro, jewellery shop owner, La Palma
Tongues of unstoppable black lava advance down the slopes steadily, but ever so slowly westward as everything in their path is incinerated. Houses, schools, gone. The banana plantations that account for the island's major exports have been similarly victimized by the slow creep of the hot lava, destroying whatever it touches.
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| A new lava flow map of the current eruption published today (image: @CopernicusEMS/twitter) |
A desperate attempt had been made by emergency services, to redirect the lava in the hope it might fall into a gorge, and damage in its inexorable path be minimized, but the effort met with no success. Nature will not be denied. Her forces are insurmountable by puny human efforts. "Faced with the column of advancing lava ... nothing can be done", stated Victor Torres, regional leader.
The lava's speed had slowed to a crawl, so much reduced, according to Miguel Angel Morcuende, it might not reach the Atlantic after all, as was widely anticipated. He advised as well, that for the time being no indication has been revealed that gases which the eruption has released would damage human health.
Approximately 6,000 of La Palma's 80,000 population has been evacuated since the volcano first erupted on Sunday. On Tuesday the Canary Islands' Volcanology Institute reported that the scale of seismic activity within the volcano was intensifying. Towers of magma bursting into the air spraying debris over the Cumbre Vieja volcano's flanks were captured by drone footage.
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Closer view of the lava fountains from the vent (image: Martin Rietze / VolcanoDiscovery) The eruption is now concentrated on the new fissure that opened yesterday.
This morning, we could see tall lava fountains continuing from it as well as a new lava flow that reached approx. 1-2 km length. |
Labels: Cumbre Vieja Volcano, Destruction, Eruption, La Palma, Spanish Canary Islands
posted by Pieface @ Friday, September 24, 2021
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