An additional status orange warning of very heavy downpours, thunderstorms and strong winds has been issued for the western Canary Islands a bit earlier today November 12th 2025 by the Spanish meteorological agency. In La Gomera the island's government has activated its emergency plan and asks to avoid travel and to stay away from all hiking trails, walks and unpaved forestry tracks. Ravines, valley floors and low lying areas should also be avoided due to the risk of flash flooding as rain accumulations of up to 30mm in just one hour can be expected.. Same applies to the other western Canary Islands of Tenerife, La Palma and El Hierro. The warnings are valid from lunchtime today until tomorrow afternoon. Status yellow warnings of thunderstorms and wind have also been issued. A heavy swell with large waves can als be expected. Gran Canaria will be under similar warnings tomorrow only while Fuerteventura and Lanzarote will come under yellow warning (see image above). Go to the Spanish meteorological service's (AEMET) official website in English for further detail.
All this is due to a large area of low pressure, presently around 980 hPa, situated NNW of the Canary Islands and off the WNW of the Iberian peninsula, named storm Claudia.
Please be aware that there is a high risk of rockfalls, which will remain for a couple of days once the rain has cleared away and the sun heats up the wet mountainsides.
La Palma banana plantation worker covered in volcanic ash (Image source:facebook)
The volcanic eruption in La Palma (click for more), the westernmost Canary Island, continues unabated and the emitted lava has now destroyed more than 500 buildings.(Ed.: the church of Todoque has now fallen victim to the advancing first lava flow, which has reactivated due to fresh hot lave running under the previous and already cooling stream). Most of the affected properties were vaporized by the over 1.000ºC hot lava which is over twelve metres thick in places. The shocking video below demonstrates the destructive power:
The eruption which started a week ago entered a more explosive phase on Wednesday, Sept. 22nd 2021, and the volcano now emits large volumes of lava, red-hot rocks, pyroclastic material, gases and ash. The plume over the volcano is up to six kilometres high at times and has even reached central Europe, while it forced the closure of La Palma's airport. Obviously La Gomera is getting a fine dusting, too and people are advised to wear a face covering for an entirely new reason now.
The image at the start of this post demonstrates the plight of La Palma's farmers. The island's banana crop alone contributes 50% to the island's economy. Large tracts of agricultural land have also been buried under the lava which will take a long time to cool down and decades to be of any use again.
Below is a drone video of the devastation, taken a few days ago:
The government of the Canary Islands has pledged to buy over 200 properties to relocate residents who have lost everything and a major aid programme has started to distribute essential goods to the more than 6.000 evacuees.
Friends of mine who were living just above Todoque have lost everything as their house, workshop and organic farm were right in the middle of the first lava stream.
If you'd like to make a donation, you can do so by sending money to one of the two accounts of the municipal administration of El Paso, under whose jurisdiction the affected area is and who are trustworthy to direct the funds without costs to aid those affected. I trust them and have just donated.
To: Ayuntamiento El Paso
Reference/Message: Erupcion Volcanica
Bank 1: LA CAIXA, CAIXESBBXXX, IBAN: ES26 2100 7109 3122 0015 5652
The cone of the main eruption which has gained a height of over 250 metres in less than a week suffered a partial collapse of its western flank after another eruptive opening began spewing lava on its northern side.
The new lava is flowing at a pace of about 30 metres per hour towards the sea while initial main stream came almost to a stop in the town of Todoque, but is now slowly flowing again.
If and when the lava will reach the sea is still not clear, but once it interacts with the Atlantic it will cause further problems as explosions and toxic gases will be generated.
(UPDATE Ed. Tues night: Since 11pm lava is now flowing freely into the sea, after igniting and demolishing more buildings, large covered banana plantations, and the farmers co-operative building with stocks of fertilizer, which caused some toxic explosions. No personal damages are reported thanks to the precautions taken. There's now about 700 buildings destroyed or severely damaged. The eruption continues strongly and further earthquakes, some of around 3.3, were registered tonight in the vicinity of the the new volcano, suggesting a further push of fresh lava)
The tremor remains steadily strong, there are fairly regular minor quakes and some rockfalls have been reported.
How explosive the volcano has been lately can be appreciated in the video below which also captured the major explosions that shattered window panes miles away from the volcano:
Just when you've had a quiet Sunday out in nature and not bothering to check yet again the recent swarm of minor earthquakes in La Palma Island, La Gomera's western neighbour, you come home late after a meal and few beers and the morning's worries are confirmed.
There's a significant volcanic eruption on La Palma in the Cumbre Viejo area and about 2.000 people have been evacuated as a precaution while the first house was engulfed by the lava flow. According to the Canary Islands press, police are preparing to evacuate several thousand more. Several hundred tourists have been evacuated and given accommodation in safe areas, according to local press.
(UPDATE Monday morning: Now more than 5.000 people have been evacuated and more than 100 houses were engulfed by the lava flow)
In the municipal areas affected (El Paso, Los Llanos de Aridane, Tazacorte) schools have suspended classes. The military emergency unit UME has been sent to La Palma island. There are no reports of any personal injuries, but several houses have been damaged by lava.
Fred. Olsen ferries have already given priority to emergency crews going to La Palma island and some regular passengers were refused boarding its service on Sunday, so any intending passengers should check with their ferry company if they can travel.
Image taken Sunday night, Sept. 20th 2021 (Source: canarias7.es)
The eruption is said to extend to two fissures with eight active craters separated by a distance of two hundred metres. The main crater extends to a fissure of 150 metres. The volcanic eruption started Sunday, Sept. 19th 2021 after 3 pm.
The Spanish prime minister Pedro Sanchez cancelled his visit to New York to go to La Palma instead and has assured the citizens of La Palma that their safety is assured and that any damages will be covered by his government. The king of Spain has pledged his 'all his support' for the people of La Palma to the Canarian president.
Live video of the eruption can be seen on Canary Islands' main TV station RTVC.
The alert level has been changed from yellow straight to RED, skipping amber.
This being a developing situation, I'll close for now as I need some sleep and will be posting more soon...
UPDATE Monday 20-09-2021, 3:15pm:
Just 24 hours after the begin of the eruption it was expected that the first lava could reach the sea tonight, after widening and flowing through a more populated area.
There are now three main Lava flows, each of several metres thickness, advancing slowly towards the coast at a speed of about 700 metres per hour. More houses and farmland in their path have been destroyed.
UPDATE Tuesday 21-09-2021:
A further crater has opened late yesterday and scientists say more may open. By now more than 200 houses have been destroyed and more than 6.000 people are now evacuated. The lave has still not reached the sea and has now entered the town of Todoque, slowing further and widening its path. It's still not clear when it will interact with the Atlantic, but it is now not far away anymore. The seismic activity continues with regular tremors, a few of which were felt all over La Palma island.
Below a map of probabilities of lava flow and resulting danger areas:
A plume of ash, gases and fumes has been blowing towards and over La Gomera as far as the western coast of Africa, which was observed from space. The image of the emissions was taken late on Monday (below):
The red star shows the epicentre and the pointers indicate locations where the quake was reportedly felt
A 4.2 magnitude earthquake was felt his morning at 6.36am according to the Spanish National Geographic Institute (IGN). The institute's stations spread across the Canaries registered a seismic movement with its epicentre located in the Atlantic between the islands of Gran Canaria and Tenerife, at a depth of 14.3 kilometres.
The tremors which lasted about one minute were felt in several municipalities of both islands and some people there were woken up by the quake. According the National Geographic Institute’s records, the earthquake reached a peak magnitude of 4.6 within a few seconds of starting. Another three very minor quakes were detected in the same area at between 1.7 and 1.9 magnitude before the stronger one. There were no reports of any damage.
The sea area between these two islands experiences minor earthquakes very regularly and today's slightly stronger one would still be seen as part of normal seismic activity in this area, so please ignore any alarmist reports that some irresponsible media sources have published (e.g. The Express (UK) ran the sensationalist headline: ''TENERIFE EARTHQUAKE: Atlantic smashed by 4.2 magnitude quake near La Palma volcano''.) Yeah La Palma, where doom to 'smash' us all is supposedly brewing below the surface, had to be mentioned again. Sorry but the only word for that headline, and for the La Palma doomsday scenario hype of a few years ago, is BULLSHIT !
Yesterday's heavy swell, which damaged some coastal properties on Tenerife and La Palma islands, was felt all over the Canary Islands. More than 100 people had to be evacuated from their dwellings in the northern coastal town of Garachico and near Tacoronte on Tenerife. In the south of Tenerife waves smashed into into the restaurant of a hotel in Adeje while guests were eating. The above video by 'Beats From Tenerife' shows large waves smash into a block of flats and tearing into balconies three floors up, leading to the evacuation of the lower floors. In La Gomera some stretches of coastal roads were closed to traffic but thankfully no incidents were reported.
Fred. Olsen and Armas ferries in the port of Los Cristianos
The past weekend once again brought traffic chaos to the port of Los Cristianos as many more people were travelling to and from the western Canary Islands through the Tenerife port due to the end of the Christmas holiday season. All the traffic has to pass through the bottleneck of the port access road in Los Cristianos and the congested port itself, where several lanes of disembarking vehicles have to go through the small roundabout into the single lane that then has to pass through the centre of the town. It often happens that two or three ferries arrive at the same time leading to delays in berthing the ships, and parked cars and trucks waiting to board add to the traffic congestion. The ferry companies' sailings also often serve two islands during one trip, i.e. stopping over at La Gomera on the way to and from La Palma. When two ferries arrive at the same time in Los Cristanos discharging hundreds of cars and trucks and even more foot passengers laden with luggage, delays are inevitable. Be warned and expect hold-ups of up to one hour if you need to catch a flight, as taxis and buses often can't get in nor out of the busy port during peak times. The traffic delays sometimes also upset the ferries' sailing schedules and the past weekend's heavy seas added further problems, resulting in some visitors missing their flights home.
The complications are particularly serious on weekends, the busiest time for traffic to and from La Gomera, La Palma and El Hierro, but no-one appears to have a solution for the long queues of vehicles at a virtual standstill for up to an hour in some cases. Port Police do their best to keep the traffic moving but are severely hampered by the narrow exit. The often heavy traffic through Los Cristianos town adds further delays on the road to the motorway. The negative image generated by the hold-ups also worries the officials and has led to calls for the ferry companies to work together to ensure their ships do not arrive at the same time in Los Cristianos. La Gomera's president has suggested the new port of Granadilla in Tenerife's south could be used provisionally for at least some of the sailings. Los Cristianos is much too small a harbour for the current volume of traffic and additionally is used by numerous fishing vessels, excursion boats and pleasure craft. Passenger and vehicle numbers continue to grow every year and recent fare reductions for residents of the Canary Islands have produced an even steeper increase of traffic through Los Cristianos, a popular and very busy holiday resort, prone to congestion anyway.
''A 39-year-old woman has died after being attacked by one of her own mixed pit bulls on La Palma.
The animal had to be shot by the police before they could gain access to her home. The animal had inflicted “significant leg injuries” on its owner. It is believed she could have bled to death.
The woman, who was Spanish and had four children, lived in a rural property in the area of La Camacha. The emergency services were called to the scene following reports that a woman had been attacked by a pit bull and needed urgent health care. On their arrival, medics found she had already died because of the injuries received. A full investigation is already underway to determine what happened.
The woman apparently owned several dogs, one of which “turned on her”, according to sources.The pit bull is one of the breeds on the potentially dangerous list and there are strict regulations about their care, including the wearing of muzzles in public.
The attack happened within the confines of the woman’s own garden. Both the victim’s husband and four children, aged between four and 20, are receiving psychological help. Neighbours, who reported hearing cries for help, said the dog usually accompanied the woman everywhere, slept with them at night and was normally docile.
The local council issued a statement lamenting the death and offering condolences to her family. A number of events were cancelled as a sign of respect.''
Yesterday the air was so clear that La Gomera's neighbouring islands could all be seen very clearly and seemed much closer than they actually are. Even Gran Canaria could be seen distinctly. I took above photograph from Juego de Bolas (near Agulo) with a simple little camera at about 10:30 am yesterday morning. La Palma's capital Santa Cruz can clearly be seen and even one of the observatories (red arrow) on Roque de Los Muchachos is distinctly visible - a distance far in excess of 100 kilometres as the crow flies.
Rarely can La Palma be seen from here with such clarity and in such detail. Extremely clear vision when distant objects seem much closer is generally considered a sign of coming rain and this morning the skies look fairly grey...
Each community in the Canary Islands ends the carnival festivities with the 'funeral of the sardine' when a large papier-mache sardine full of pyrotechnics is burnt and pushed into the sea, accompanied by the wailing of 'grieving ladies', i.e. men dressed in women's clothes who 'cry their eyes out' as the sardine dies and carnival ends. This year Valle Gran Rey had an Egyptian sardine and even 'The Pope' attended its funeral last night.
Hot samba rhythms are always part of the carnival in the Canary Islands and each town has their own samba school. The one above came from La Palma island to attend the funeral and they were amazing.
La Palma island seen from La Gomera on a clear day in October
The following I found on Sheila Crosby''s La Palma blog:
''Lotteries are big business in Spain. And I’m happy to say that people do win – in 2012, 70 people in Breña Alta shared 7 million euros. Good luck to them.
The two big lotteries over Christmas are particularly popular, “El Gordo” (the fat one) on December 22nd and “EL Niño” (the child) on January 6th have extra large prizes, but your extra unlikely to win because they sell so many extra tickets.
I don’t buy lottery tickets, because I prefer to make my own luck. I also know enough about probability mathematics to know that the house always wins. Tickets for the big Christmas lottery in Spain cost €20, and your chances of winning are tiny.
One year my brother-in-law was celebrating because he’d won 250€. But then he bought about 15 tickets, and that cost him 300€. See what I mean?
I think I’ve probably got a reputation for refusing to join syndicates. I have to stop myself from banging on about the remoteness of your chances. If you buy a ticket for the British lottery on Monday, you are more likely to drop down dead before Saturday than you are to scoop the jackpot. But some years ago at a Christmas dinner I bought two strips of tickets for €20. Now obviously the top prize was tiny compared to the €3,000,000 of the national lottery, but literally millions of people buy national lottery tickets, and this raffle had only about 50 people entering it. Besides, any profits go towards next year’s dinner.
And I won a prize – a ticket to the national lottery for 22nd December. I thought that was pretty funny – spending €20 to get exactly €20’s worth of something I didn’t actually want. It wasn’t until I was on my way home that I realised I could have swapped it for a bottle of wine. Never mind, I thought, I could indulge in a few day-dreams until the draw took place and reality set in.
Well blow me down, I won. No, not the €3,000,000 jackpot. Of course not. I only won €20, so I’m back where I started, except for the laugh.''
Island Connections.eu reports the following, highlighting once more the dangers of engaging in outdoor activities in adverse weather conditions without local guidance:
The bad weather forecast for the western Canary Islands nearly had serious consequences for a group of tourists who had to be rescued from rushing waters in a popular hiking spot.
La Palma 16-10-15:
The four hikers were walking in the La Caldera de Taburiente area when they became stranded in the Angustias Ravine, in which heavy rain had caused a torrent of water to flow in a matter of minutes. An SOS sent to the emergency services saw a helicopter dispatched urgently to the site and the stranded quartet were airlifted to safety. All four were reported to be unhurt despite their ordeal. La Palma was one of the islands placed on a bad weather alert for strong winds and downpours during the day and throughout the night. Several roads in the Caldera de Taburiente area had to be closed due to the conditions. The Canarian government issued recommendations to the public to take extra care due to the danger of flying debris caused by the winds, which played havoc with flights in La Palma and Tenerife North.
Los Cristianos ferry terminal, built in the form of a ship
The refurbished bright interior
Good news for travellers to an from the western Canary Islands of La Palma, El Hierro and La Gomera: The cafeteria in the ferry terminal on the pier in Los Cristianos on Tenerife has reopened under new management this week. The upstairs facility had been closed for a long time and it was a fairly long walk to the nearest bar or cafe in the port to get any food or drink. Now the refurbished bright interior with its long self-sevice counter and the large terraces overlooking the harbour once again provide sustenance and rest for weary travellers while watching life in the busy harbour.
Meanwhile the cafeteria in the ferry terminal of San Sebastian de La Gomera is still closed, but the rental contract has been awarded to new management by the authorities (the terminals are public buildings) and it is expected to reopen soon as well.
The upstairs entrance. Photo taken early in the morning just after opening
Observatories on La Palma island's highest peak Roque de los Muchachos at about 7500 ft.
Astronomers predict that a meteor shower which is expected to be seen in the sky in the early hours of Saturday morning will be the most spectacular for many years. Scientists who have been monitoring the comet 209P/Linear predict that a major meteor shower could light up the pre-dawn sky in the early hours of Saturday, May 24th 2014, when debris from the comet will fire off perhaps hundreds of shooting stars. The comet was discovered in 2004 and orbits the sun once every five years. In 2012 it had a relatively close encounter with Jupiter and this resulted in the comet's path coming closer to earth. The meteor shower will probably be seen best from North America, but from many parts of Europe and especially from the Canary Islands it can also be observed.
Image source: La Palma fire brigades via gomeranoticias.com
Two forest fires which were just a short distance apart were fought in the El Paso region on the island of La Palma yesterday. There was concern that they may have been started deliberately because they were so close to each other. The first was put out relatively swiftly, though not before burning nearly 2000 square metres of trees and shrubs. The second broke out a few hours later and local officials admitted late last night that it looked worse even though firefighters managed to establish a perimeter around it before midnight and were optmistic that it would eventually burn itself out. With temperatures falling in the area this morning, the emergency services have brought the blazes under control fully, although the smoke rising from the spot has given locals anxious moments, and a helicopter was sent to provide support from the air in the battle to quench the flames. One road leading to the area had been completely closed yesterday.
The tug turning the rig just south off Valle Gran Rey yesterday morning
The rig that was reported and viewed passing La Gomera on Sunday is still around... and doing rounds between the islands. This morning it was seen again close to La Gomera and being towed past Valle Gran Rey's southern approach. In the past few days it has been spotted off the coast of southern Tenerife, off La Gomera and it just keeps going around in circles between the western islands of Tenerife, La Gomera and El Hierro. The 86m tug that's towing the rig is named Pacific Champion, registered in Singapore, built only a couple of years ago in 2011 with a GT of 4566 tons, and its last registered port of call was Las Palmas de Gran Canaria about a month ago. Rumours are doing the rounds (including one that says it is a rig that is to dredge material from the bottom of the sea for the new harbour in Tazacorte on La Palma to replace another dredger that capsized) but personally I think that it is an oil rig which is just waiting for the right weather conditions to be towed across the Atlantic (or to go wherever) after a refit in the docks of Gran Canaria which specialise in that kind of rig-refitting work. It probably won't be looking for oil, gas, nor anything else around the western Canaries, I think. How many more erratic circles until it goes away ? I'm tracking it and will let you know here if there are any interesting developments..., but just a while ago at around midnight it was heading at 3.4 knots (slowly) towards south of La Gomera again from the southern tip of Tenerife. As a neighbour said: ''Maybe they want us to get accustomed to the sight of rigs !?'' - Naw !
Mind you, oil exploration remains the hottest poltical potato in the Canary Islands.
UPDATE 13-03-14, 10pm: The rig towed by the tug stopped over in Santa Cruz de Tenerife harbour today around noon. The tug Pacific Champion went on to berth in the harbour of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria later tonight - whether with or without the rig is not known to me. Get the spy-glasses out over there! This ends the many loops in the sea of the tandem in the western Canaries for now.
The western lights of La Gomera (left) and El Hierro (right) under the stars. Image:project nightflight
Green airglow shimmers atop translucent clouds as the Milky Way rises over a remote island off the northwest coast of Africa in a majestic photo recently sent to Space.com.
Erwin Matys and Karoline Mrazek captured this spectacular image on June 6, 2013 from the southern part of La Palma Island, Canary Islands. They took the image as part of Project Nightflight, an astrophotography project aimed at "capturing the beauty of the night sky."
“Just after we finished our shots the whole sky was suddenly covered with thick clouds and all the magic was gone,” Matys told Space.com via email.
The foreground features the characteristic volcanic landscape of the Canary Islands. The faint lights are from neighboring islands, La Gomera toward the left and El Hierro. Tiny top-lights from a small wind park on the shore give off the fait red glow visible in the foreground.
The photographers digitally combined two exposures of four minutes, one for the Milky Way (tracked), the second for the landscape (untracked).
The ‘Shtandart’, a replica of the Russian frigate commissioned by Peter the Great in 1703, spent the winter in the Canary Islands and offered 4 itineraries for young people to experience sailing in the 18th century as well as explore the islands. You can find out how this came about and the purpose of the Shtandart Project by clicking the link.
The weekend is once again upon us and that means more people are travelling to and from the western Canary Islands and different ferry schedules from weekdays. All this traffic has to pass through the bottleneck of the port access road in Los Cristianos on Tenerife and the congested port itself. The ferry companies' sailings also often serve two islands during one trip, i.e. stopping over at La Gomera on the way to and from La Palma and El Hierro and that means that travel to all the western islands is affected. When two ferries arrive at the same time in Los Cristanos discharging hundreds of cars and trucks, delays are inevitable. Be warned and expect hold-ups if you need to catch a flight, as taxis and buses often can't get in nor out of the busy port during rush hour. The traffic delays sometimes also upset the ferries' sailing schedules. I've experienced these delays a couple of times this summer and met people who missed connections. The following report and photo was published by Island Connections.eua couple of days ago:
Port blockage!
"The limitations of the port in Los Cristianos have again been in evidence as heavy weekend ferry traffic at the end of the summer brought the usual chaos and should serve to make the Port Authority and local council rethink the current lay-out.
On several occasions the simultaneous presence in Los Cristianos of the Fred Olsen and Armas ferries serving La Gomera brought massive problems, with cars, buses and container lorries stuck in the bottle-neck at the port exit as they disembarked. The merging of up to six lanes of exiting traffic at the small roundabout into the single lane on the only road leading out of the port is a nightmare not just for vehicles trying to leave the port but also those heading for the departing ferries. The complications are particularly serious on Fridays and Sundays, two of the busiest days for traffic to and from La Gomera, but no-one appears willing to provide a solution to the negative image generated by the long queues of vehicles at a virtual standstill for up to half an hour in some cases. The Port Police do their best to keep the traffic moving but are severely hampered by the narrow exit. The latest hold-ups have led to calls for the ferry companies to work together to ensure their ships do not arrive at the same time in Los Cristianos."
