SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, Nov. 14 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The eruption of the La Palma volcano, which celebrates 56 days today, continues without registering any notable news and the lava continues to flow over the existing streams in a single channel that forks at times, especially in the lower area, feeding more or less to a lesser extent in the three areas of arrival at sea.
The technical director of Pevolca, Miguel Ángel Morcuende, stressed at a press conference that this means that no new spills or more damage occur, since the contribution of lava is maintained in the area of the deltas, causing their growth, although at a slower speed than yesterday and mainly in the southern part of the delta that was created on Los Guirres beach.
Miguel Ángel Morcuende specified that, unlike yesterday, the wash that is receiving the greatest contribution of lava is 9, located at lower elevations to the south of flows 1 and 2, which are also receiving contributions, although to a lesser extent . All three make up a lava delta that has already been superimposed on the delta that was created during the eruption of the San Juan volcano.
The technical director also indicated that in evacuated and exclusion areas, especially in the southern part of the Valley, levels of sulfur dioxide (SO2) have been registered in recent days, which at times have been very unfavorable and that can be harmful to health. Therefore, today it has not been possible to access the coastal areas to collect belongings or water farms in Fuencaliente.
Regarding the number of shelters, a total of 481 people remain in hotel centers, 5 more than yesterday. Of this number, 414 are staying at the Fuencaliente hotel and 67 at the Los Llanos hotel. In addition, there are 43 dependent people cared for in insular health centers.
The area affected by the volcanic eruption now reaches 1,019.79 hectares, 1.12 more than yesterday, corresponding mainly to the lava delta, and the maximum width between flows of 3,100 meters is maintained.
According to data from the Cadastre, dated Friday, November 12, the number of destroyed buildings amounts to 1,460, of which 1,181 are for residential use, 150 for agricultural use, 67 for industrial use, 34 for leisure and hospitality, 13 for use. public and 15 other uses.
MORE ERUPTIONS.
During the press conference, the director of the National Geographic Institute (IGN) in the Canary Islands and spokesperson for the Pevolca Scientific Committee, María José Blanco, was asked about the possibility that new eruptions could be foreseen in advance on the island of La Palma.
María José Blanco pointed out that it is known that there will be more eruptions not only on La Palma, but also on El Hierro, Tenerife and Lanzarote, as they are volcanically active islands, they have had eruptions in the short written history of the Canary Islands and, for Therefore, they will continue to have them.
In the case of La Palma, he explained that since October 2017 the IGN had been detecting anomalous seismic activity concentrated in swarms at depths greater than 30 km. On September 11, these swarms began to occur at a shallower depth and were accompanied by a deformation of the terrain, which meant that the magmatic intrusion had reached lower levels and that the probability of an eruption was greater.
REPORT OF THE SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE.
According to the daily report of the Pevolca Scientific Committee, the height of the eruptive column measured today at 8:45 am was 3,100 meters, with a dispersion in a SW direction.
Regarding the meteorological prediction, the surface wind at 5,000 meters will have an E component, which will dispose the ash cloud and sulfur dioxide (SO2) in a W-SW direction. During the next 36-48 hours there will be a favorable scenario for the operation of the airports. Furthermore, the low pressure system is not expected to directly affect the Canary Islands.
The seismicity continues to be maintained at depths greater than 20 km in the same number and with respect to intermediate depths, between 10 and 15 km, it remains low compared to previous weeks. The maximum magnitude in the last 24 hours has been an event that occurred at 05.24 hours, with a magnitude of 4.7 mbLg, at 37 km and felt with a maximum intensity IV. The current level of seismicity continues to indicate that it is possible that more felt earthquakes may occur, being able to reach intensities of V and VI.
In relation to the deformation of the terrain, the station closest to the eruptive center (LP03) continues to show deformations that reflect the dynamics of the eruptive process and the rest of the stations, a general trend towards regional deflation.
Regarding the SO2 emissions associated with the volcanic plume, the measurements carried out yesterday by miniDOAS on the maritime mobile platform were lower than in previous days, although they continue to have high values. Specifically, yesterday between 2,000 and 4,000 tons per day were measured. Regarding the diffuse CO2 emission associated with Cumbre Vieja, it continues to register values above the background levels and they have been stable for about ten days, reflecting a value that is between 1,800 and 2,000 tons per day.
Air quality yesterday was at good or reasonably good levels in all stations, with no exceedances of hourly or daily limits. During the early hours of yesterday and the morning of today there has been a slight increase in the values in Puntagorda and Los Llanos, going from good to reasonably good levels and reaching regular values at certain times. In the rest of the stations, the values today remain at a good air quality level.
Regarding PM10 particles, yesterday continued to register low values in all the stations on La Palma, with good and reasonably good levels except for a high intensity episode in Los Llanos between 12:00 and 14:00 associated with cleaning work. , resulting in an excess of the daily value. This event raised the 24-hour moving average to a very unfavorable level, which has remained until today. At the moment the values recorded in Los Llanos are low, so air quality levels should improve during the morning if there are no significant changes in conditions. In the rest of the stations the levels remain between good and reasonably good.
