A swarm of earthquakes triggers alert from the volcano in Spain’s La Palma

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MADRID (Reuters) – Authorities on the Spanish Canary island of La Palma have warned that a sudden increase in seismic activity could portend a volcanic eruption in the coming days or weeks.

Spain’s National Geographic institute detected 4,222 tremors in the so-called “earthquake swarm” in Cumbre Vieja National Park, around the Tinguia volcano in the far south of the island.

As the earthquakes intensified and approached the surface, the regional government of the Canary Island, on Tuesday, placed the island on a yellow alert for the eruption of the volcano, the second of a four-level warning system.

On Thursday, she said there was no clear evidence of an immediate eruption, though she warned that the situation could develop rapidly.

“More severe earthquakes are expected in the coming days,” it said in a statement.

More than 11 million cubic meters (388 million cubic feet) of magma has seeped into Cumbre Vieja in recent days, the Canaries Volcanic Institute said Thursday, swelling the peak by about 6 centimeters.

Rising steeply from the Atlantic Ocean about 100 kilometers west of southern Morocco, the Canary Islands are home to the most active and most famous volcanoes in Spain, including the Teide in Tenerife and Timanfaya in Lanzarote.

The Tinegia volcano last erupted in 1971 – the last shallow eruption in Spain – while a volcano off the small underwater island of El Hierro erupted in 2011.

Additional reporting by Nathan Allen and Emma Pinedo, Editing by Inti Landoro and Steve Orlovsky

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