On the 19th of September, the volcano that would later be known as Tajogaite erupted and changed the lives of many people living on the island of La Palma forever. The eruption went on to last 85 days and 8 hours and was announced to be over by Julio Perez on Christmas day (25th of December 2021). The eruption produced an estimated 200 Mm3 of volcanic materials, and 9,090 earthquakes have been located, with 5.1 mbLg being the maximum magnitude recorded, and IV-V the highest intensity earthquake reached on the EMS scale. This timeline was constructed using geological reports and official statements produced throughout the La Palma eruption from September 12th 2021 until January 31st 2022. All original reports were written in Spanish and were therefore translated into English for this timeline. The reports were also edited for mistranslations, readability, and succinctness. Some geological and volcanological jargon is used throughout this timeline, please refer to GeoTenerife’s glossary, https://geotenerife.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/glossary-geotenerife.pdf, for definitions. The data collected from these reports range from the deformation of the volcanic cone to official advice given to the public. We decided to establish this timeline so that an individual would be able to study geological events and governmental response and understand the challenges faced when responding to an ever-changing eruption. To use this timeline, scroll right on the timeline to move from September reports through to the January reports, next select a date you would like to read more about. A pop-up of that date’s data will show on the page. Alternatively, if you would like to sort by type of geological activity or official statement, refer to the code system table below and select which subgroup you would like to read more about. After selecting a subgroup, e.g. TRFLGHT, a pop-up within the page will list all dates with that activity and will contain a link to the original source if you wish to further your research.
Group | Subgroups | Description |
---|---|---|
Official statement | GENEVAL | This label is applied to days when a general assessment of the situation is reported. |
VOLEVAL | This label is applied to days when an assessment exclusively of the volcanic activity is reported. | |
FORCST | This label is applied to days when a forecast was repoted to the public. | |
EVACOUT | This label is applied to days when evacuations of residents took place/was announced. | |
CNFNEON | This label is applied to days when confinement of residents took place/was announced. | |
CNFNEOFF | This label is applied to days when confinement of residents was announced / lifted | |
EVACIN | This label is applied to days when the return of residents to previously evacuated area took place/ was announced. | |
TRFLGHT | This label is applied to days when the traffic light system was change. | |
DECS | This label is applied to days when policy decisions were announced. | |
DECSPAST | This label is applied to days when a reminder of past decisions were reported in an official statement. | |
ADV | This label is applied to days when official sources made recommendations to the public. | |
PUB | This label is applied to days when public communications, e.g. town meeting, took place. | |
EXCLSN | This label is applied to days when the exclusion zone changed in size/shape. | |
SEIS | This label is applied to days where IGN reported seismic activity | |
PLUME | This label is applied to days where IGN reported ash plume activity | |
VOLTREM | This label is applied to days where IGN reported volcanic tremor activity | |
VOLTREMPULS | This label is applied to days where IGN reported intensification in the volcanic tremor signals | |
UPLFT | This label is applied to days where IGN reported uplift | |
SUB | This label is applied to days where IGN reported subsidence | |
DIRDEF | This label is applied to days where IGN reported deformation with direction | |
Geological activity | DEF | This label is applied to days where IGN reported deformation without direction |
ERPTINC | This label is applied to days where IGN reported the eruption of pyroclastic materials started | |
ERPTEND | This label is applied to days where IGN reported the eruption of pyroclastic materials ended | |
LAVA | This label applies to days where IGN reported lava flow activity | |
ASH | This label applies to days where IGN reported an increase in ash deposition | |
RVSDEF | This label applies to days where the deformation previously reported by IGN reverses | |
CNEHGHT | This label applies to days when IGN reported the height of the cone | |
EQPOP | This label applies to days when earthquakes of any intensity were felt by the population | |
DGSS | This label applies to days when intense degassing was reported by IGN |
Timeline data accumulated by Ajay Jones and Ryan Bailey