Video shows the moment a second La Palma lava stream hits the ocean

Another magnitude 5 earthquake has been recorded this Thursday morning, which was felt in the neighbouring islands of Tenerife and La Gomera

ANTONIO PANIAGUA

Thursday, 11 November 2021, 11:11

A stretch of shore popular with surfers has been almost completely buried by molten magma as the lava spewed from the La Palma volcano hit the sea on the Los Guirres beach, in Tazacorte, on Wednesday.

The thermal shock was brutal as the second lava flow to reach the sea came into contact with the waves at a temperature of 900 degrees. The volcano runoff, carrying large blocks of rock, cascaded down the cliff face through three waterfalls, fed by lava tubes running underground. The new lava delta has been created close to the one that was formed as a result of the first eruptions.

In view of the improvement in air quality on Wednesday, face-to-face school classes were resumed in Los Llanos de Aridane, El Paso, Tazacorte, Puntagorda and Tijarafe. The height of the ash cloud stands at around 1,800 metres.

Volcanic activity spike

However, there has been a considerable increase in the seismicity. This Thursday morning at 3.37am, 11 November, a strong magnitude 5 earthquake shook La Palma and it was also felt in other islands such as Tenerife and La Gomera. It is one of the most intense recorded since the eruption of the Cumbre Vieja volcano began on 19 September.

It is feared that the increase in seismicity could be the prelude to another spike in volcanic activity, the product of a reactivation of deep-layer magma reservoirs.

Lava already covers 999 hectares of land on La Palma and affects 2,605 buildings, according to the European Copernicus satellite programme.

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