SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, Nov. 13 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The new fajana that has been created this week on Los Guirres beach continues to grow thanks to the supply of lava it is receiving from flows 1, 2 and 9, while the rest of the flows remain stable, with lava flowing mainly through areas already trodden down and already have a magma cover on the outside.
The technical director of Pevolca, Miguel Ángel Morcuende, reported at a press conference that everything remains in similar circumstances to yesterday, so there are no overflows or spills to other points, and growth is only taking place in the lava delta.
The technical director stressed that seismicity continues to be maintained at intermediate depths, between 10 and 15 km, and at high depths, more than 30 km, and is not being recorded at the surface level. Seismicity continues at low values, consolidating the evolution that has been registered in the last two days, and above all, deep seismicity remains constant. Although there has been a decrease in earthquakes, today there has been an earthquake of magnitude 5.0 mbLg, which has been felt with a maximum intensity of IV-V in La Palma, La Gomera and Tenerife.
The director of the National Geographic Institute (IGN) in the Canary Islands and spokesperson for the Pevolca Scientific Committee, María José Blanco, insisted that, although there is a downward trend, the current level of seismicity continues to indicate that it is possible that more Sense earthquakes, being able to reach intensities of V and VI on the EMS scale.
Regarding deformation, a slight vertical deflation is maintained at station LP03, the closest to the eruptive center, and the trend towards stability continues in the rest of the island’s stations.
Likewise, the emission of sulfur dioxide (SO2) associated with the volcanic plume maintains the same magnitude in terms of tons as in the last two days. Although there was a significant rise three days ago, in the last two days it has been decreasing, as it happened the previous week.
In relation to the meteorological forecast, there will basically be wind from the north and northwest, which causes the dispersion of the ash cloud to be disposed towards the southwest and west, so that the operation of the airports will be favorable. The thermal inversion is around 2,000 meters, favoring the dispersion of pollutants. Also, weak rainfall is expected this afternoon, especially to the north and east of the island. The possibility of the formation of a storm core towards the west of the Canary Islands is also maintained and it will probably be known tomorrow if it affects La Palma.
In terms of air quality, there are still minor SO2 issues. Yesterday there was an overcoming of the daily thresholds in Puntagorda and of the hourly thresholds in both Puntagorda and Los Llanos. Right now, the levels are good or reasonably good in all the stations on the island, except in Puntagorda, which has reached an unfavorable level at some point during the day, although at present the levels are reasonably good.
Regarding PM10 particles, there are again problems of rebound of these pollutants, especially at unfavorable levels yesterday afternoon. The rest of the stations have been reasonably good or good and it should be noted that the thresholds have not been exceeded in any of the stations.
MORE THAN 1,000 HECTARES AFFECTED.
With the latest advances, the area affected by lava has increased by 9.2 hectares and is estimated to reach approximately 1,018.67 hectares. The width between casts at the lower elevations continues to be 3,100 meters.
Also, according to Copernicus data, until yesterday there were 2,732 buildings / constructions affected, of which 2,616 would be destroyed and 116 at risk. For its part, the area of crops affected by the lava amounts to 295.68 ha, of which 169.5 correspond to banana trees, 59.9 to vineyards and 24.8 to avocado trees.
There are currently 476 people housed, 5 more than yesterday, of which 409 are housed at the Hotel Princess in Fuencaliente and 67 at the Hotel Valle de Aridane in Los Llanos. Likewise, we have 43 dependents in different social health centers on the island.
