Posts
5.4
magnitude earthquake shakes Canary Islands: one of the largest
tremors ever
-
December
27, 2013 – CANARY
ISLANDS – Something
is going on under El Hierro, and recent events suggest this time
things could be dramatically different. Two years after a new
underwater volcano appeared offshore of El Hierro in the Canary
Islands, earthquake swarms and a sudden change in height suggest a
new eruption is brewing near the island’s villages, officials
announced today (Dec. 27). After the announcement, one of the largest
temblors ever recorded at the volcanic island, a
magnitude-5.4 earthquake,
struck offshore of El Hierro at 12:46 p.m. ET (5:46 p.m. local time)
today, the National Geographic Institute reported. Residents on the
island reported strong shaking, and the quake was felt throughout the
Canary Islands, according to news reports. The earthquake’s
epicenter was 13 miles (22 kilometers) deep. Before the
earthquake struck early this afternoon, the island’s volcano
monitoring agency, Pelvolca, had raised the volcanic eruption risk
for El Hierro to “yellow.” This warning means that activity is
increasing at the volcano, but no eruption is imminent. A similar
burst of activity prompted a yellow warning in June 2012, but the
volcano soon quieted down. –TEP, LS
Magma rising: rapid inflation, and strong tremors shake El Hierro
December 27, 2013 – CANARY ISLANDS – Although earthquakes have largely ceased for the moment, the island experiences ongoing rapid inflation and harmonic tremor, both signs that an eruption could be imminent. The inflation in the SE part near El Pinar and La Restinga has reached almost 10 cm in just a few days by now. Instead of new earthquakes, harmonic tremor (steady low-frequency ground vibration) has appeared 2 days ago and since then been gradually increasing. Both observations, as well as some single long-period earthquakes in the past days, are indicators of magma moving into the system and pressurizing it. This means that the scenario of a new eruption has become more and more likely. It is impossible to say whether and when a new eruption will occur, but it could happen quickly any time. It would probably begin with a series of stronger earthquakes to open up a conduit. Based on the inflation and earthquake patterns, the most likely area would be near the 2011 vent near La Restinga, perhaps even on land. In this case, La Restinga would be the village most at risk. The previously detected very high Radon gas emission values also suggest the presence of new magma and pose a health risk particularly in closed low-lying rooms of buildings especially in southern El Hierro. –Volcano Discovery
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RSOE
EDIS - Emergency and Disaster Information Service:
Long
predicted by Oceanographers and Volcanologists. Could a mega tsunami
starting in the Canary Islands really hit the USA?
(Condition
Yellow!) Mag 5.4 earthquake Shakes Canary Islands, El Hierro Volcano
Magma Rising Being Reported!
Meanwhile,
scientific research is predicting that an eruption of the Cumbre
Vieja volcano, at La Palma in the Canary Islands would result in a
massive mega-tsunami that would reach the East Coast of America.
Geological
evidence suggests that during a future eruption, Cumbre Vieja Volcano
on the Island of La Palma may experience a catastrophic failure of
its west flank, dropping 150 to 500 km3 of rock into the sea. Using a
geologically reasonable estimate of landslide motion, we model
tsunami waves produced by such a collapse. Waves generated by the
run-out of a 500 km3 (150 km3) slide block at 100 m/s could transit
the entire Atlantic Basin and arrive on the coasts of the Americas:
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