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The La Palma Eruption and Reconstruction Project

As a Geoscience education company, with a special interest in responsible science communication, based in the Canary Islands, we were in a unique position to document the 2021 Volcán de Tajogaite eruption in La Palma. We wanted to ensure our resources could be put to good use during the volcanic emergency and beyond to benefit the residents and tourists alike. The La Palma project by GeoTenerife is a multi-media project which aims to increase the awareness and understanding of volcanic activity, volcanic emergency plans, and reconstruction in La Palma. Our self-funded research on La Palma has led to our award-winning documentaries “Lava Bombs: Truths Behind the Volcano” and “Lava Bombs 2: The Reconstruction” is due for release in 2024. Our work is open access, in non-specialist language, and resident-focused.

Want to ask us a question about VolcanoStories’ La Palma reconstruction project? Visit our Forum

Most recent

15 April, 2025

MirameTV Lava Bombs Roundtable discussion

As part of our ongoing effort to foment debate in the Canary Islands and build resilience, and to coincide with the release of Lava Bombs 2 on platforms on 18 April, GeoTenerife collaborated with MirameTV to show both Lava Bombs documentaries and then hold a frank debate with key figures. In this first session on Lava Bombs: The Eruption, hosted by David Cuesta, Sharon Backhouse of GeoTenerife was joined by the Canarian heads of volcanic surveillance and emergency services.

Monthly Updates of La Palma's Reconstruction

La Palma, Reconstruction, VolcanoStories

La Palma Reconstruction – February 2025

701 out of 1,298 homes affected by the volcano have been paid for – Nieves Lady Barrato, Presidential Advisor in the Government of the Canary Islands. Government approves new National Hazard surveillance plan – The Government Council of Ministers has approved a National Plan for the Surveillance of Seismic, Volcanological and Geophysical Phenomena, prepared by IGN. Progress of the “Volcano Law” - Proposed amendments to the “Volcano Law” from the main political parties, which is curr

WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE 2021 VOLCÁN DE TAJOGAITE ERUPTION?

Lava Bombs: Truths Behind The Volcano captures the explosive stories behind the crisis and response to the 2021 Volcán de Tajogaite eruption in Cumbre Vieja on La Palma in the Canary Islands. Lava Bombs reveals the heavy impact of this major disaster, through the voices of the affected people, emergency managers, politicians and scientists, as well as showcasing spectacular imagery captured by witnesses, news crews and drone pilots. Themes of communication, trust and missteps are analysed as we start to look towards lessons learned for future emergencies of all kinds

The 2021 Tajogaite eruption was the largest and most destructive eruption in La Palma for the last 500 years. It caused around €1 billion in damage, displacing over 7,000 people, and destroying 3,000 buildings, 2,000 of which were people’s homes. Here are some of VolcanoStories helpful summary videos:

A collection of interviews with witnesses of the 2021 La Palma Eruption, conducted by GeoTenerife. These interviews were later used in the Lava Bombs: The Truth Behind the Volcano documentary.

To help put the science in context and counter sensationalism GeoTenerife was involved in social media live streams and news interviews with local, national and international media outlets during the volcanic eruption of La Palma. Here are the playlists which document our work.

Charities to support affected residents

Here are the charity campaigns we have supported/run for the affected residents of the La Palma eruption

Current Projects

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Coming soon: Puerto Naos and La Bombilla Volcanic gases

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3D Lava Flow models
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La Palma Reconstruction Updates
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Tajogaite eruption timeline
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The Eruption day-by-day
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La Palma eruption Open data sets
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Student reports about La Palma
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Eruption Witness Interviews

Here you can find our glossary of Volcanic terms, complete with examples and explanations specific to the 2021 eruption on La Palma. You can download the glossary here in pdf or doc

ERRORS AND OMMISSIONS: VolcanoStories represents our best endeavour to reflect the eruption of Volcán de Tajogaite accurately, but we fully accept it may contain errors and omissions for which we apologise in advance and ask for your HELP. We encourage individuals or institutions who see an ERROR or who would like to CONTRIBUTE further material to help in this endeavour please contact us.

VolcanoStories content is freely available for students, educational establishments and academics – all we ask is that you cite “GeoTenerife’s VolcanoStories”. 

However, the content is not to be used for commercial use. Any media or commercial outlet wanting to use any content herein should contact us in writing in the first instance via enquiries@geotenerife.com.

For more detail, refer to our Terms of Use.