SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, Nov. 2 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The emission of a considerable volume of ash from the Cumbre Vieja volcano continues this Tuesday, as in the previous three days, and has covered the entire west and northeast sector of the island of La Palma, a phenomenon that has been accompanied short episodes of audible bursts that could be caused by intense degassing.
This was reported at a press conference by the national director of Volcanic Surveillance of the National Geographic Institute (IGN) and spokesperson for the Pevolca Scientific Committee, Carmen López, who also indicated that in the last hours the high rate of lava emission from the source continues emitter from the northwest flank of the main cone, and in the pouring zone 11 there has been a slight advance of the lava flow that moves towards the west, approaching the LP-211 highway.
However, the technical director of Pevolca, Rubén Fernández, specified that during the night said laundry has slowed down its evolution a lot, advancing only one meter per hour, and right now it is stopped about 150 meters from the LP-211, so not that an immediate condition is expected in the next few hours, although it remains closed to traffic.
Rubén Fernández pointed out that all the material contribution to the system is being made, above all, in the casting zone 9, which has increased in width and height, but not so much in extension, and there are also contributions in the original casting, where the Lava circulates through volcanic tubes and on the surface, although there is no condition that causes its widening at this time.
Regarding PM10 particles, at the Los Llanos station there is an ‘unfavorable’ quality index that is still maintained. In fact, yesterday the daily threshold for this station was exceeded and today’s records continue to be high, reflecting the incidence of ash fall from the volcano, which is highly influenced by the eruptive dynamics and daily winds. This situation means that the recommendation to use FFP2 masks and reduce exposure to open spaces is maintained in the valley, and the suspension of face-to-face classes is maintained tomorrow.
On the other hand, the disposal of the ash cloud and sulfur dioxide (SO2) is in an east-southeast direction, which represents an unfavorable scenario for the next 36 hours for the operation of La Palma Airport, as well as for the airspace between La Palma, La Gomera and the west of Tenerife. Likewise, tomorrow Wednesday there is a probability of weak rains in the northwest of La Palma, which may be locally moderate during Thursday.
Air quality due to sulfur dioxide has been at ‘very unfavorable’ and ‘extremely unfavorable’ levels at the Puntagorda station between 00.00 and 05.00 hours. Subsequently, these values fell significantly from 08.00 hours, remaining at ‘good’ or ‘reasonably good’ values for the rest of the day. In the rest of the stations the levels are also ‘good’ and ‘reasonably good’.
CLOSE TO 94 MILLION M3.
The area affected by the volcanic eruption is estimated at around 976.97 hectares, 9.12 more than yesterday, and the width between flows is about 3,100 meters, although with areas that have not been damaged by lava. Likewise, the estimated volume of the material expelled by the volcano is estimated at almost 94 million cubic meters. However, Carmen López clarified that there are other measurement methodologies that could give higher values and that would also be valid. In fact, the Involcan already speaks of 110 million cubic meters.
The height of the cone and the scattering cloud today reaches a height of 3,700 meters. And in relation to seismicity, it continues to be located in the same areas and at the same depths, between 10 and 15 km and greater than 20 km. The maximum magnitude in the last 24 hours has been a 4.6 mbLg earthquake that occurred yesterday at 8:24 pm and 36 km deep, which has been felt with maximum intensity IV and which has also been slightly felt in La Gomera and Tenerife.
Regarding the deformations, the same scenario continues in the stations near the eruptive center, where stability is registered, and in the higher stations a slight regional deflation continues.
Yesterday the emission of sulfur dioxide associated with the volcanic plume registered a value of 22,000 tons per day, with the use of remote sensors in mobile maritime disposal, and in the case of the diffuse emission of carbon dioxide (CO2) associated At the Cumbre Vieja ridge, an upward trend has been observed since October 22 and the last measurement gives a value of 1,520 tons per day.
The number of people housed in hotel centers stands at 462, three less than the previous day. Of these, 395 are staying at the Fuencaliente hotel and 67 in Los Llanos de Aridane. In addition, there are 43 dependent people treated in insular health centers and there is no one in the Fort. Likewise, some 5,000 people have used the shuttle bus service last weekend to go to see the volcano.
