La Palma eruption update 21st october 2021: The lava flow field is now up to 2,900 m wide

La Palma eruption update 21st october 2021: The lava flow field is now up to 2,900 m wide

Daily summary

The two active streams to the north have grown and coalesced and appear to be travelling to the SW of La Laguna Mountain. However, it cannot yet be ruled out that their growth and the changing topography may mean the flow travels northwards in the future, which is the fear that prompted the preventative evacuation on the afternoon of the 20th October. The flow to the north closest to the sea remains at 80 m from the cliff, and there have been minimal contributions to this flow in the last 24 hours. Regarding eruptive activity, there are currently five active vents, four strombolian vents in the main cone, and one vent showing only lava emission. The area affected is now 825 hectares, with the lava flow field now 2,900 m across at its widest point.

Earthquake activity was again increased, with almost all events recorded at intermediate (10-15 km) depth. 141 events were recorded, peaking at 4.4 mbLg. SO2 emissions were also increased, at 28,740 tons per day, although this is an underestimate, and the ash and gas plume reached 4000 m.  The tremor remains high, with pulses of intensification. Deformation remains stable at stations closest to the eruption, although a slight regional deflation is still recorded further from the eruption. However, SO2 concentrations were low across the entire island, with no stations coming close to the hourly threshold. PM10 concentrations were also relatively low across most stations, although the daily threshold (50 μg/m3) was exceeded at the El Pilar and Los Llanos stations.

(Above) A video of the eruption showing the number of active vents showing different styles of eruptive activity. Video credit: INVOLCAN

Sources: Government of the Canary Islands, PEVOLCA, Involcan, IGN, DSN, Cabildo La Palma, 112 Canarias, Tolouse VAAC, Copernicus EMS

Lava flows

Earthquakes

Exclusion zone map

Exclusion zones shown here have been approximated from press releases from the Cabildo de La Palma and will not be exact, nor claim to be official maps of the exclusion zones. For official information, please contact the Cabildo de La Palma.

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Interactive Lava Flow Map

Notes: Use the button in the top right to open the map into full screen mode. Use the legend icon in the top left to see the legend and further information about the map. Click on individual days to see an outline of the lava flows on that day.

Interactive Earthquake Map

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Notes: The size of the points represents the size of the earthquake, and the colour represents the depth. The map will also only show a certain number of points at once. For ease of use, we recommend you uncheck all dates and the satellite basemap from the legend in the top right, and inspect the earthquakes one day at a time.

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