LOS LLANOS DE ARIDANE, Canary Islands (AP) — A volcano on the Spanish island of La Palma that has been erupting for six weeks spewed greater quantities of ash from its main mouth Sunday, a day after producing its strongest earthquake to date.
Lava flows descending toward the Atlantic Ocean from a volcanic ridge have covered 970 hectares (2,400 acres) of land since the eruption began on Sept. 19, data from the European Union's satellite monitoring service, showed. On the way down the slope, the molten rock has destroyed more than 2,000 buildings and forced the evacuation of over 7,000 people.
But authorities in the Canary Islands, of which La Palma is part, have reported no injuries caused by contact with lava or from inhaling the toxic gases that often accompany the volcanic activity.
Experts said that predicting when the eruption will end is difficult because lava, ash and gases emerging to the surface are a reflection of complex geological activity happening deep down the earth and far from the reach of currently available technology.
The Canary Islands, in particular, “are closely connected to thermal anomalies that go all the way to the core of the earth,” said Cornell University geochemist Esteban Gazel, who has been collecting samples from the Cumbre Vieja volcano.
“It's like a patient. You can monitor how it evolves, but saying exactly when it will die is extremely difficult,” Gazel said. “It’s a process that is connected to so many other dimensions of the inside of the planet.”
Signs monitored by scientists —soil deformation, sulfur dioxide emissions and seismic activity— remained robust in Cumbre Vieja. The Spanish Geographic Institute, or IGN, said that a magnitude 5 quake in the early hours of Saturday was not just felt on La Palma, but also in La Gomera, a neighboring island on the western end of the Canary Islands archipelago.
IGN said the ash column towering above the volcano reached an altitude of 4.5 kilometers (15,000 feet) on Sunday before heavier wind scattered it. Many nearby towns and a telescope base further north that sits on a mountain at 2,400 meters above sea level (7,800 feet) were covered in a thick layer of ash.
The eruption has also turned the island into a tourist attraction, especially as many Spaniards prepared to mark All Saints Day, a Catholic festivity that honors the dead, on Monday.
Local authorities said some 10,000 visitors were expected over the long weekend and 90% of the accommodations on La Palma were fully booked. A shuttle bus service for tourists wanting a glimpse of the volcano was established to keep private cars off the main roads so emergency services could work undisturbed.
Parra reported from Madrid.
LOS ANGELES, IJAPANI (AP) - Volkano moja katika kisiwa cha La Palma nchini Hispania, ambayo imekuwa ikilipuka kwa wiki sita, ilitoa majivu mengi kutoka kwenye mlango wake mkuu siku ya Jumapili, siku moja baada ya kusababisha tetemeko kubwa zaidi la ardhi hadi sasa. Mtiririko wa lava kutoka kwenye mlima wa volkano ya Volcano de la Mancha umefikia eneo la ekari 970 tangu mlipuko huo ulipoanza Septemba 19, kulingana na huduma ya uchunguzi wa satelaiti ya Umoja wa Ulaya. Katika njia ya kushuka, mwamba uliomwagika umeharibu majengo zaidi ya 2,000 na kulazimisha watu zaidi ya 7,000. Hata hivyo, katika visiwa vya Canary, ambapo La Palma ni sehemu ya kisiwa hicho, hakuna watu waliojeruhiwa kutokana na mafuriko ya lava au kutokana na kuvuta gesi zenye sumu ambazo mara nyingi huambatana na shughuli za volkano. Wataalamu wanasema ni vigumu kutabiri wakati mlipuko huo utakapokwisha kwa sababu lava, majivu na gesi zinazotokea juu ya ardhi ni dalili za shughuli tata za kijiolojia zinazotokea ndani ya ardhi na mbali na uwezo wa teknolojia ya sasa. "Kuna uwezekano mkubwa kwamba visiwa vya Canary vina ""mzunguko wa joto wa chini ya ardhi,"" alisema Esteban Gazelle, mtaalamu wa geochemistry wa Chuo Kikuu cha Cornell, ambaye amekuwa akikusanya sampuli kutoka volkano ya Cumbre Vieja." <unk>Ni kama mgonjwa. Unaweza kufuatilia jinsi inavyoendelea, lakini kusema hasa ni lini itakufa ni vigumu sana, <unk> Gazel alisema. "Ni mchakato ambao ni kushikamana na vipimo vingine vingi vya ndani ya sayari. " Ishara kufuatiliwa na wanasayansi "mabadiliko ya udongo, uzalishaji wa sulfuri dioksidi na shughuli seismic" alibaki imara katika Cumbre Vieja. Taasisi ya Kijiografia ya Uhispania (IGN) imesema tetemeko la ardhi lenye nguvu ya 5.8 lilihisiwa katika visiwa vya La Palma na La Gomera, visiwa vya jirani katika sehemu ya magharibi ya visiwa vya Canary. "Kulingana na IGN, ""safu ya majivu iliyokuwa juu ya volkano hiyo ilifikia urefu wa kilomita 4.5 Jumapili kabla ya upepo mkali kuisambaza.""" Miji mingi iliyo karibu na kituo cha darubini-upeo kilicho kaskazini zaidi, kilichoko juu ya mlima ulio mita 2,400 juu ya usawa wa bahari, kilikuwa kimefunikwa na safu nzito ya majivu. Mlipuko huo pia umegeuza kisiwa hicho kuwa kivutio cha watalii, hasa wakati Wahispania wengi wakijitayarisha kuadhimisha Siku ya Watakatifu Wote, sherehe ya Kikatoliki inayowaheshimu wafu, Jumatatu. Mamlaka za eneo hilo zilisema wageni 10,000 wanatarajiwa kutembelea eneo hilo mwishoni mwa wiki na asilimia 90 ya vyumba vya kulala vilikuwa vimejaa. Huduma ya mabasi ya kusafirisha watalii wanaotaka kuona volkano ilianzishwa ili kuweka magari binafsi mbali na barabara kuu ili huduma za dharura ziweze kufanya kazi bila kusumbuliwa. Parra aliripoti kutoka Madrid.