Volcano erupts on the Canary Island of La Palma, forcing evacuations

(Image credit: Desiree Martin/AFP via Getty Images)

published 20 September 2021

A volcano erupted Sunday near the southern end of the Canary Island of La Palma, sending lava down toward two villages.

There had been seismic activity in the week leading up to the eruption, and authorities had already started evacuating some residents and farm animals from the villages, Reuters reports. About two hours after the volcano in the Cumbre Vieja national park erupted, more than 5,000 residents were ordered to evacuate from four villages.

Video recorded on Sunday night showed three rivers of lava flowing down the volcano, with one large stream crossing a street. The volcano last erupted in 1971, and resident Isabel Fuentes, 55, told TVE that anyone who lives through such an experience doesn't forget it. "When the volcano erupted today, I was scared," she said. "For journalists it is something spectacular, for us it is a tragedy. I think the lava has reached some relatives' houses."

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

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