Authorities warns on the Major volcano eruption alert on Canary Islands after ‘earthquake swarm’ detected – World News

Officials on the Spanish Canary Island of La Palma have warned that a sudden increase in seismic activity could herald a volcanic eruption in the coming days or weeks.

Authorities warns on the Major volcano eruption alert on Canary Islands after 'earthquake swarm' detected - World News

The area was put under a yellow alert earlier this weekFears are growing over a volcanic eruption in the Canary Islands that could strike in days.

Officials on La Palma, a Spanish Canary Island, warned that there could be a volcanic eruption in the near future if seismic activity increases suddenly.

Spain’s National Geographic Institute has detected 4,222 tremors in a so-called “earthquake swarm” in the Cumbre Vieja national park, around the Teneguia volcano in the island’s far south.

The quakes intensified as they approached the surface and the Canary Island’s Regional Government placed the island on Tuesday on yellow alert for an eruption. This is the second level of a four-level alert system.

The Canary Island’s regional government said no evidence of an imminent eruption on Thursday but warned that the situation could change quickly.

“More intense earthquakes are expected in the coming days,” it said in a statement.

The Volcanic Institute of the Canaries stated that Cumbre Vieja had seen more than 11 million cubic meters (388 million cubic feet) of magma in recent days. This has caused the peak to rise by approximately 6 centimeters.

The Canary Islands, located 100 km west of southern Morocco in the Atlantic, are home to Spain’s most famous and active volcanoes.

La Palma, the Canary Islands’ most volcanically active island, is home to La Cumbre Vieja, considered the most eruptive.Authorities warns on the Major volcano eruption alert on Canary Islands after 'earthquake swarm' detected - World News

Teneguia’s last eruption was in 1971, the last Spanish surface eruption. El Hierro’s volcano erupted underwater in 2011.

Earlier this week, it was reported that while the situation is being monitored, experts said it is unlikely that an eruption would cause any significant threat to human life.

Nemesio Perez, Director of the Volcanology Institute of the Canaries (INVOLCAN) said on Monday that: “In 80 percent of cases, these processes remain underground and do not result in a volcanic eruption.”

He insisted that people can continue with their day-to-day lives and added: “We’re moving from a situation of normality to one of alert.

“We’re recognizing a change in seismic activity and recommending to the population that they pay attention to information issued by the authorities.”

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