The Canary Seismic Network, an automatic analysis system managed by the Volcanological Institute of the Canary Islands (Involcan), detected this Sunday in La Palma an earthquake of 4.2 on the Richter scale, the maximum magnitude observed so far since this new seismic swarm began a week ago in the Cumbre Vieja volcano area.
As reported by Involcan on its Facebook page, this earthquake was recorded at 11:16 a.m. and was located at a very shallow depth. The National Geographic Institute (IGN) has also recorded this same tremor, although in its monitoring table it appears with a magnitude of 3.8 on the Richter scale.
From 01:00 on Friday, September 10 to 10:00 today, Sunday, the Involcan Canary Seismic Network has been able to detect more than 25,000 earthquakes on the island of La Palma, of which it has been possible to locate more than 1,450 tremors.
In recent years, the Cumbre Vieja volcano has experienced ten seismic swarms, including the one that began this past Saturday (1 in 2017, 1 in 2018, 5 in 2020 and 3 in 2021). The earthquakes in this latest swarm are more superficial compared to previous seismic swarms, where the depth ranged between 20 and 30 km.
The current seismic swarm represents a significant change in the activity of the Cumbre Vieja volcano and is related to a magmatic intrusion process beneath the island of La Palma. Involcan recalls that it cannot be ruled out that the felt seismicity will intensify in the coming days, depending on the evolution of the activity.
The Council closes trails and forest tracks
The Cabildo of La Palma has reported the closure of trails and forest tracks in the municipalities affected for a week by the new seismic swarm.
Specifically, as announced this Sunday, the trails and forest tracks that run through El Paso, Los Llanos de Aridane, Fuencaliente and Villa de Mazo are closed.
Likewise, the Island Corporation has decided to suspend the small game hunting day in El Paso, Los Llanos de Aridane, Fuencaliente, Tazacorte and Villa de Mazo.
