Laurence Dollimore
FEARS of a volcanic eruption are spreading in Tenerife following a surge in seismic activity and gas emissions.
An expert speaking to El Confidencial said there has been an ‘anomalous increase’ in both since 2016, and that there is a 40% risk of an eruption in the next five years.
However Luca D Auria, director of surveillance at the Volcanic Institute of the Canary Islands (INVOLCAN), told the Spanish newspaper ‘there is no reason to be alarmed’ and that ‘nothing indicates an eruption will occur in the short term.’
He added that the Teide volcano, which has not erupted since 1909, is being monitored by experts, adding: “Right now the priority is to monitor the situation and be very aware of its evolution.”
Auria said there would have to be earthquakes measuring four on the Richter scale to indicate a more immediate danger. They are currently measuring between one and two.
He explained: “The probability of an eruption this year would be about 2%, in the next 5 years, 40%, and in 100 years, it would exceed 90%. But this is speculation, anything can happen.”
Two changes would indicate that Teide is closer to an eruption; a gradual increase in earthquakes with rising intensity, or a few days of a sudden burst of seismic activity, similar to what happened when La Palma erupted in 2021.
The Canary Islands Government has called for ‘calm’ amid rising concerns among the local populace.
Territorial minister Manuel Miranda said on Tuesday that INVOLCAN and the National Geographic Institute (IGN) will be ‘constantly monitoring’ the seismic and volcanic activity on the Canary Islands.
He added that the government is working on a new risk management and public awareness campaign, and that scientists ‘do not see signs of an eruption in the next few weeks or months’, but acknowledged that the archipelago is ultimately ‘a territory that, we cannot forget, has a volcanic origin’.
Meanwhile, concern is taking hold among locals living near the volcano.
A woman, named only as Andrea, who lives in Vilaflor, a town very close to Mount Teide, told El Confidencial: “We do not want to think about it too much, but the possibility that the volcano will erupt at some point in the near future exists and it generates concern and fear in us.”
She said that so far ‘there is no panic, far from it’, and that they are reassured that the experts ‘see no reason for alarm’.
She added that residents are ‘going on with their lives without thinking too much about it’, but that there is ‘a little tension in the subconscious in view of the risk of seeing an eruption of Teide soon’.
