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link to globaldisasterwatch.blogspot.com]
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Subsea Volcanic Eruption Underway Near El Hierro (The Canary Islands) - A submarine volcanic eruption is taking place approximately 5 kilometres (about 900 metres ) off the southern coast of El Hierro, five kilometres south of La Restinga. The eruption started around 11:00am Monday. The eruption is taking place because ‘the seismic movement of 4.3 which occurred on Saturday afternoon caused a fissure, from where the energy is being released’. Scientists remain unclear if the emissions are gas or lava.
A meeting of PEVOLCA – Actualidad Volcánica de Canarias, comprising representatives of Instituto Geografico Nacional (IGN) and The Canary Islands Government, took place on the Spanish Island. In a statement issued shortly before 4 p.m. local time, the IGN stated “…although there is no certainty that at the moment it is producing an underwater volcanic eruption, since the last morning there has been a release of fluids and volcanic gas on the southern coast of the island. Scientists from IGN have reported to the direction of the Plan all the indicators that have been analyzed to point towards the possibility of the beginning of an eruptive process that has changed the type of waves that have registered on seismographs in the last hours, implying the beginning of emission of gases or lava…The helicopter of the emergency and rescue of the Government of the Canary Islands group has done reconnaissance flights during the morning without exit of volcanic material to the surface ... PEVOLCA encourages people to perform their usual tasks normally and to remain attentive to any unusual activity."
Meanwhile, La Agencia Estatal scientists equipped with special detection cameras have been making numerous sorties over coastal areas of El Hierro in an attempt to verify the existence and scale of the underwater eruption. This is Spain’s first volcanic eruption since the 1971 eruption of the Teneguía volcano on the island of La Palma (Canary Islands), located to the north of El Hierro. Initial reports of the eruption were received from crews on board four separate ships. On Monday afternoon, Terra Noticias/Agencia EFE reported that an eruption occurred 2000 metres below sea level in the Las Calmas sea at 10.43 local time (05:43 EDT). Government authorities have suspended ferry activities to and from the island. “The martime chief for the province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife has issued a recomendation that boats should not sail closer than four miles off El Hierro. Divers have also been told to suspend all activities.” The eruption takes place amidst an unprecedented earthquake swarm in El Hierro. The number of earthquakes recorded since July 17, 2011 on El Hierro has now exceeded 10,000.
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LARGEST QUAKES -
This morning -
5.2 OFF EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
Yesterday -
10/10/11 -
5.7 NEAR EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
5.3 KERMADEC ISLANDS REGION
5.6 SOUTHERN EAST PACIFIC RISE
5.3 NEW BRITAIN REGION, P.N.G.
5.4 OFF EAST COAST OF KAMCHATKA
5.3 VANUATU
CANARY ISLANDS - 2.5, 2.9
United States
