An earthquake with a magnitude of 4.3, the largest since the beginning of the volcano’s eruption, shakes the island of La Palma.
An earthquake of magnitude 4.3, 35 kilometres deep, has shaken the island of La Palma this afternoon, according to the National Geographic Institute of Spain.
The tremor is the largest since the volcano’s eruption began on 19th September. In addition, a new tongue of lava from the main stream this afternoon reached the beach of El Charcón, on the coast of the municipality of Tazacorte. To be specific, it reached the lava delta formed during the eruption of the San Juan volcano in 1949, between Los Guirres beach and El Charcón.
The lava from the Cumbre Vieja volcano already covers 431 hectares, with a perimeter of 36.24 kilometers and a maximum width of 1,250 meters. The lava delta occupies an area of 38 hectares.
Airport closed again
La Palma airport suspended all activity this Thursday due to an ash cloud caused by the eruption of the Cumbre Vieja volcano, Aena reports. The rest of the airports in the Canary Islands are working.
Already on Wednesday afternoon, the two main airlines in the region, Binter and CanaryFly, reported they were temporarily cancelling the flights scheduled for Thursday because the situation of suspended ash was worsening. In the case of Binter, it announced today it will not fly to La Palma at least until this Friday.
Spain’s King Felipe VI held a video call with representatives of the Canary Islands Plan for Volcanic Emergencies (Pevolca) on Thursday. They discussed the latest situation on the island. The king is currently on the neighbouring island of Tenerife.
El País reports the king considered travelling to La Palma from Tenerife. However, he was forced to abandon the plan after the island’s airport closed.
