Lava Flows Over Road as Volcano Erupts on Spain's La Palma Island

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

This footage from Spain’s National Geographic Institute (IGN) lava flowing over a road, severing the route.

The eruption was reported around 3:30 pm local time. 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.

The increase in seismic activity through the week had been closely monitored by the Canary Islands Volcanology Institute (Involcan), which earlier 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.

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