SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, Oct 15 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The two lava fronts that are advancing to the south of the La Laguna mountain, in the municipality of Los Llanos de Aridane, and that forced the eviction of all the residents of the neighborhood, are tending to converge in a single wash and the forecast is that can reach the sea. Likewise, no new evacuations are planned in the short term.
The technical director of Pevolca, Rubén Fernández, has indicated in a press conference that during the night these two fronts have run at high speed due to the fluidity of the flow, the magmatic contribution and the orography, reaching over 250 meters per hour . However, today the speed has been reduced a lot and they are moving at about 20 or 30 meters per hour.
Rubén Fernández has also pointed out that these two fronts are approximately one kilometer from the coast, and all estimates indicate that they will reach the sea in an area other than the lava delta (fajana), although everything will depend on the orography and the final direction that these two coladas are taking.
Rubén Fernández has also reported the existence of another wash that has separated from these two fronts and that is running in a northwesterly direction towards La Laguna. Now you are on the El Cumplido road, at the height of number 22. The forecasts that scientists handle, depending on the orography of the area, is that it may tend to go along the north face of the mountain of La Laguna and that it does not run further to the northwest, so it would not affect that area of the neighborhood.
Regarding the original wash and the one located south of the Todoque mountain, the spokesperson for the Pevolca Scientific Committee, María José Blanco, has indicated that the latest videos show a contribution of material that produces visible thermal anomalies, so there is no it is ruled out that they may have a short-term evolution. However, he clarified that there is not a great contribution of material, although there is a flow that is feeding these flows.
In this regard, María José Blanco specified that the updated data on the destroyed magma gives a value to yesterday of 80 million m3 and, based on the measured value of sulfur dioxide (SO2), it gives a value of 50.5 million of m3.
Regarding seismicity, Rubén Fernández pointed out that there is a high probability of earthquakes of magnitudes above 4.5 and high intensity tremors are currently being recorded, although they are located at depths below 30 kilometers. These will continue to be felt by the general population.
In another vein, during the morning access for irrigators has been restricted in the agricultural areas that range from the La Laguna soccer field to the south, a restriction that has been modified throughout the morning depending on to the risks and measures established by the Civil Guard, which at all times establishes access restrictions based on the dangers associated with the laundry. Similarly, access is still allowed for the collection of belongings in La Laguna, Jedey and Las Manchas.
The area affected up to yesterday by the wash stands at 696 hectares, 21.5 more than the previous day, and the width of the wash continues at 1,770 meters. The total of evacuees remains at about 7,000 people, of which a total of 321 are housed in the Princess Hotel in Fuencaliente.
Also, tomorrow Saturday, at 7:00 p.m., there will be a new informative talk by scientists in the Tazacorte Pavilion to inform the neighbors about the evolution of the eruption.
DAILY OPINION OF THE SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE.
Prior to the meeting of the Pevolca Steering Committee, the Scientific Committee met, in which its members presented their conclusions on the evolution of the eruptive phenomenon since yesterday. These conclusions indicate that the fissure eruption continues but with a predominance of the effusive phase, which is evidenced by the higher emissions of lava flow and less emission of ash. The Volcanic Explosivity Index (VEI) has so far remained at 2.
Large blocks carried by the lava flow located further north continue to be observed and at the exit of the emission center the flow is concentrated in a stepped lava channel. Its momentary clogging and the oscillations of the lava flow cause specific overflows that form ephemeral flows that spill laterally over the main cone. These are short-run flows in directions perpendicular to the current lava canal. Likewise, the emission centers in the crater are still active.
The morphology of the cone changes repeatedly due to the successive processes of growth and reconfiguration. The height of the ash and gas column measured today, as well as its dispersion, reaches 4,000 meters.
Regarding meteorological conditions, atmospheric stability will prevail over the next few days and the presence of a marked reversal and the prevalence of weak winds will lead to an unfavorable scenario from the point of view of air quality.
At this time the disposal of the ash and sulfur dioxide (SO2) plume is in a north direction from the eruptive focus and this plume is expected to migrate slightly to the east and it is not ruled out that it may affect the operation of La Airport again. Palma for the next 24 or 36 hours. Because the wind is not very intense, the areas most affected by the ash fall will be the areas surrounding the volcano, which may affect the eastern slope mainly from tomorrow.
The seismicity, almost non-existent at the surface level, continues to be located close to the seismicity of the first days, at depths between 10 and 15 km. However, deep-focus seismicity gains importance, both due to its frequency and the magnitudes it reaches. The maximum magnitude observed in the last 24 hours has been 4.5 mbLg and the maximum intensity was III-IV EMS and at a depth of 36 km, which took place early this morning. The current level of seismicity continues to indicate that it is possible that more felt earthquakes may occur, which may cause small landslides in sloping areas.
The local deformation in the station closest to the eruptive center (LP-03) has partially reversed the horizontal deformation accumulated yesterday and the rest of the stations do not show any significant pattern.
Yesterday, the emission of sulfur dioxide associated with the volcanic plume (visible emanations) continues to register high values in line with the eruptive process, reaching values of 14,542 tons per day (underestimated value). The diffuse emission of carbon dioxide associated with the 220 km2 of the Cumbre Vieja ridge has been re-measured, reaching 1,184 tons per day.
Regarding air quality, yesterday there was an event with a high concentration of SO2 in Tazacorte, Los Llanos and El Paso until 11 a.m. whose maximum was close to the hourly threshold but without exceeding it. The daily average of SO2 in the Los Llanos station was also close to reaching the daily threshold but did not exceed it, and during the night and in the morning a high concentration of SO2 is being recorded in these three stations, but of less intensity than Yesterday.
Regarding PM10 particles, the daily thresholds have not been exceeded at any of the stations. During the morning of today an event of high concentration of PM10 has been registered in Los Llanos around 10:00, reaching 242 micrograms / m3 but is currently in remission.