Category: La Palma

Coastal Towns Locked Down in La Palma as Lava Crashes Into Ocean

MADRID—Authorities on the Spanish island of La Palma ordered residents of three coastal towns to stay indoors on Monday after a new stream of lava crashed into the ocean, sending thick clouds of potentially toxic gases high into the sky. A third tongue of lava from the Cumbre Vieja volcano, which has been erupting for…


Supercomputer Predicts Evolution of La Palma Eruption

Each morning and for two hours, one of Europe’s largest supercomputers processes data from the eruption of the Cumbre Vieja to make short and mid-term predictions. This science is known as Urgent Computing. Since it started on Sept. 19, the eruption on the Spanish island of La Palma shows no signs of stopping. Scientists say…


Ash From Erupting Volcano Forces Spanish Islanders Indoors

SANTA CRUZ DE LA PALMA, Canary Islands—Authorities on the Spanish island of La Palma are telling people who live near an erupting volcano to stay indoors because of a heavy fall of ash that has forced the cancellation of flights and school classes. The Cumbre Vieja volcano on La Palma, which is part of Spain’s…


Official: La Palma ‘Most Severe Volcano in 100 Years’

An erupting volcano on the Spanish island of La Palma continued to emit huge amounts of magma and black ash Wednesday after the collapse of an inner cone on the previous night. New lava flows emerged, causing landslides and overflows of magma into the primary lava flow that has advanced to the west of the…


La Palma Island Braces for More Quakes as Volcano Roars On

LOS LLANOS DE ARIDANE, Canary Islands—Residents on Spain’s La Palma island braced Wednesday for the possibility of bigger earthquakes that could compound the damage from a volcano spilling lava more than five weeks since it erupted. Seismologists said a 4.6 magnitude earthquake shook the island a day after they recorded a 4.9 magnitude quake that…


Spanish Volcano More Active, Spews ‘Giant Lava Fountain’

MADRID—A volcano erupting for the past five weeks on the Spanish island of La Palma is more active than ever, officials said Monday, after new lava flows following a partial collapse of the crater threatened to engulf previously unaffected areas. A powerful new river of molten rock gushed out of the Cumbre Vieja volcano early…


Spain Pledges Quicker Help for La Palma Volcano Damage

SANTA CRUZ DE LA PALMA, Canary Islands—Spain’s prime minister announced Saturday that his government will speed up already promised aid to help the thousands of residents on La Palma island whose homes and livelihoods have been destroyed by a protracted volcanic eruption. On his fifth visit since the Atlantic island was shaken by the Sept….


Spain Vows to Speed up Aid to Volcano-Hit La Palma

LA PALMA—Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said Spain would speed up aid to the hard-hit agriculture and fishing industries on the island of La Palma, where part of the volcano’s cone collapsed on Saturday and red hot lava continued to flow over a month after the eruption began. Lava has covered almost 900 hectares of land,…


La Palma Evacuees See No End to Ordeal After Month of Volcanic Eruption

LA PALMA, Spain—One month after the Cumbre Vieja volcano erupted on the Spanish island of La Palma spewing red-hot lava and ash, Culberta Cruz, her husband, and their dog are living in a tiny caravan on a parking lot and see no end of the ordeal in sight. “I’m tired, so tired … but who…


No End in Sight to Volcanic Eruption on Spain’s La Palma: Canaries President

LA PALMA, Spain—There’s no immediate end in sight to the volcanic eruption that has caused chaos on the Spanish isle of La Palma since it began about a month ago, the president of the Canary Islands said on Sunday. There were 42 seismic movements on the island on Sunday, the largest of which measured 4.3,…