The intense eruptions of the volcano in La Palma forced firefighters to retreat and citizens to evacuate three more towns on Friday.
The airlines canceled flights because of the biggest cloud of gas and ash since the volcano erupted.
Firefighters started a cleaning operation in Todoque town on Friday as a new vent cracked open in the volcano’s flank.
Videos on social media showed a huge shockwave arising from the volcano eruption location.
La Palma Volcano, a new phase
“The volcano is in a new explosive phase. Firefighters will not operate anymore today,” the Tenerife fire service tweeted.
Authorities have deployed the service to provide assistance on the Spanish island.
They ordered the towns of Tajuya, Tacande de Abajo and Tacande de Arriba to evacuate.
The residents assembled at the local football playground, as they had not evacuated on Friday afternoon.
Initially, the Canary Islands emergency had told residents to stay at home to avoid the ash clouds and lava shreds.
However, they later instructed them to evacuate due to the high risk of explosions. Authorities evacuated animals too.
“Evacuating people is the main priority, although there are other important tasks like keeping pets safe,” the Guardia Civil tweeted.
The Guardia Civil posted a video on Twitter showing officers carrying unwilling goats to safety.
The Cumbre Vieja volcano has ejected thousands of tons of lava since it erupted on Sunday.
Moreover, it destroyed plenty of houses and forced thousands of people to evacuate.
According to reports, there were no serious injuries or deaths.
However, nearly 15% of the banana crops on the island are at risk of burning, which would endanger locals’ jobs. Read more.
The Canaries volcanology institute said on Thursday that a toxic gas and ash cloud extends nearly 4km into the sky.
The national weather agency said that the cloud had started to drift towards the Northeast (the Mediterranean and mainland).
