The Cumbre Vieja volcano on the Spanish island of La Palma continues to erupt, spewing lava and ash for more than a month now. Upwards of 7,000 people have been evacuated, and some 2,100 buildings have been destroyed. A new branch of lava flow is expected to reach the sea today and release more toxic gases into the atmosphere, which may lead to home-confinement orders for neighboring towns. Officials are warning that the eruption could continue for several more months.
The Ongoing Volcanic Eruption in the Canary Islands
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Maria Jesus, 61, stands in front of a window in her home in El Paso, from which lava can be seen erupting through a window, on October 4, 2021. "My feeling is of fear, terror, sometimes agony, to see people who are suffering and have been left with nothing, and to help them in whatever way they can, but I am also having a very bad time," Jesus told Reuters. #
Borja Suarez / Reuters -
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On October 4, 2021, an astronaut aboard the International Space Station shot a photograph of the south end of La Palma. The oblique camera angle provides a three-dimensional view of how the volcanic plume rises above and over low-level clouds. #
NASA Earth Observatory -
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A Spanish Civil Guard boat passes in front of steam rising in the background as lava reaches the sea, as seen from the Tazacorte port, on the Canary Island of La Palma, on October 6, 2021. #
Juan Medina / Reuters -
Several stranded dogs are seen on ash-covered ground in an area surrounded by a lava flow, in the area of Todoque on the Canary Island of La Palma. Plans were made to rescue some of the dogs using drones, but they were canceled when a local group apparently went in on foot and rescued them. #
La Palma Local Goverment / VOLCA via Reuters -
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A woman hands an abandoned dog she found to the Benawara Animal and Plant Protection Association on October 5, 2021. The association is currently hosting and caring for animals because of the eruption of Cumbre Vieja. #
Juan Medina / Reuters -
Faithful walk in a procession with the Virgen del Pino ("The Pine Virgin") around a chapel to pray for the Cumbre Vieja volcano to stop erupting, as it can be seen in the background from El Paso on October 19, 2021. #
Susana Vera / Reuters -
Residents stand in their house after they were allowed to enter again, having been evacuated three weeks prior in anticipation of the arrival of lava from the Cumbre Vieja volcano in Tajuya, on October 20, 2021. #
Antony Paone / Reuters -
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