Police Air Units Monitor Erupting Volcano in Spain's Canary Islands

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A volcano erupted on La Palma, one of Spain’s Canary Islands, on Sunday, September 19, after seismologists recorded a series of tremors over several days, the strongest of which was measured at magnitude of 4.2 earlier on Sunday.

The eruption, which was reported around 3:30 pm local time, sent smoke and lava spewing out of several fissures.

This footage from the Guardia Civil, one of Spain’s chief law enforcement agencies, shows views of the volcano captured by both a helicopter crew and officials on the ground.

The increase in seismic activity through the week had been closely monitored by the Canary Islands Volcanology Institute (Involcan), which earlier on Sunday said the “current seismic swarm represents a significant change in the activity of the Cumbre Vieja volcano.” On Friday, Involcan said it had at times recorded more than 400 earthquakes in a single hour; on Saturday, the agency reported a nine-day total of more than 25,000 earthquakes.

Authorities warned residents of the increased risk, and in the hours before the eruption announced the temporary closure of public recreational spots and precautionary evacuations of people with disabilities from several areas.

Officials asked people to stay away from the area of the eruption and to “exercise extreme caution.” Credit: Guardia Civil via Storyful