Thousands of small earthquakes have hit the Canary Island of La Palma in recent days, while the authorities claim they have strengthened and moved closer to the surface.

As the quakes intensified and moved closer to the surface, the Canary Islands regional government put the island on a yellow alert for an eruption on Tuesday, the second of a four-step alert system.

The “earthquake swarm” is also likely to escalate, authorities said.

The authorities said the situation could change “in the near term,” but authorities said they had no indication that the latest outbreak was imminent, since the Scientific Committee for the Special Response to Disaster Control Plan said Thursday the number of earthquakes and their intensity had decreased.

More than 100 million cubic metres of magma have entered Cumbre Vieja in recent days, swelling the summit by 100 millimetres, the Canary Islands Volcano Institute said on Thursday.

Fire and ashes: The most nasty volcanoes of our age

Santa Cruz de Tenerife

Santa Cruz de Tenerife, commonly abbreviated as Santa Cruz , is a major city, capital of the island of Tenerife, Province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, and capital of the Canary Islands. (wikipedia)


Tenerife

Tenerife is the largest and most populous island of the Canary Islands. It is home to 43% of the total population of the archipelago. With a land area of 2, (wikipedia)

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Canary Islands

The Canary Islands , also known informally as the Canaries, is a Spanish archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in a region known as Macaronesia. At their closest point to the African mainland, (wikipedia)


La Palma

La Palma , also San Miguel de La Palma, is the most north-westerly island of the Canary Islands, Spain. (wikipedia)