Cristina Hodgson
A NEW volcano mouth has opened and forced further evacuations as lava engulfs hundreds of houses on its way to the sea.
Residents and tourists from the Spanish island of La Palma, in the Canary Islands, have continued to flee from their homes since the eruption of the Cumbre Vieja volcano, this Sunday, September 19.
Late Monday night, a new vent of the volcano ripped opened and forced residents of the Tacande region, in the municipality of El Paso, to evacuate their homes.
This is the ninth vent or mouth of this volcano and it is located about 900 metres from the main one.
Rivers of lava from the Cumbre Vieja volcano together with the ash cloud and toxic gases rising over the island has already forced the evacuation of some 5,500 residents and has affected at least 120 homes.
On the second day of volcanic activity, several houses and cars were swallowed up by the molten lava expelled from the Cumbre Vieja.
The most affected localities from the volcanic eruption are: Tacande, Tamanca, Alcala, El Paraiso, Todoque, Las Manchas and Tazacorte. Additionally, on the coast, the inhabitants of El Remo, Puerto Naos and La Bombilla have also been evacuated, and four other municipalities are on alert because they could be affected by the lava.
Furthermore, the Maritime Captaincy of Santa Cruz de Tenerife has temporarily banned navigation on the coastal strip of Tazacorte, where the lava, with temperature exceeding 1,110ºC, may come into contact with the sea and cause deadly billowing steam clouds.
As of early Monday night, no volcanic-related deaths had been confirmed.
READ MORE:
- VIDEO: Homes swallowed up by molten lava in volcano eruption on La Palma in Spain’s Canary Islands
- IN PICS: Dramatic images of volcano erupting on La Palma in Spain’s Canary Islands
