Mount Cumbre Vieja erupts in El Paso (Image: AFP via Getty Images)
A volcano in the Canary Islands could fracture and plunge into the ocean, triggering a ‘megatsunami’ with the potential to devastate entire coastal areas, an expert has cautioned.
Cumbre Vieja is a volcano situated on the island of La Palma, Spain, notorious for its damaging slow-moving lava streams, poisonous gas releases and substantial volcanic ash.
Volcanologist Professor Bill McGuire has been observing the location and believes an enormous section of rock, referred to as a “flank,” is gradually shifting towards the ocean, posing the threat of releasing a catastrophic volume of water should it collapse.
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“Based on extensive studies, I expect this part of the flank will eventually crash into the North Atlantic, launching a megatsunami in the process,” McGuire said in an article he published on BBC Science Focus, reports the Mirror.
LA PALMA CANARY ISLANDS, SPAIN – NOVEMBER 19: Cumbre Vieja volcano, on 19 November, 2021 in La Palma, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain. The volcano currently has three active fronts, one that runs from Montaña Rajada to the north of Montaña Cogote -colada 11–, another that continues to feed the lava deltas and the third, the most intense one, which runs between lava flows 4 and 7. At a press conference, the deputy director of Pevolca, Ruben Fernandez, and the volcanologist of the IGN, Carmen Lopez, said it is occupying new space at the expense of homes and farms but has slowed and is advancing at about 20 meters per hour. In addition, it has also stopped the overflow of the main cone that was detected on Thursday night and caused an increase in the rate of emission of lava, very fluid, and the growth of its flow. (Photo By Europa Press via Getty Images) (Image: Europa Press via Getty Images)
“There has been huge debate and discussion, sometimes quite heated, about the level of expected destruction, and – in particular – whether devastating waves will reach the coast of North America.”
Computer modelling indicates the catastrophe could generate massive waves reaching 65ft along America’s eastern seaboard, submerging coastal settlements within merely nine hours of the volcanic collapse. Proof of the potential destruction can be found thousands of miles away in the Bahamas, where scientists have discovered enormous boulders deposited along the shoreline.
Geologists believe prehistoric tsunamis triggered by volcanic collapses transported the rocks across the Atlantic, leaving behind stark evidence of just how wide-ranging such waves could be.
While a tsunami could race across the ocean at speeds comparable to a jetliner once set in motion, scientists have been keen to stress that a volcanic collapse poses no imminent threat and may not occur for centuries or even a millennium.
PHI PHI ISLAND, THAILAND: An overview taken from a helicopter shows the devastation on Phi Phi island, in southern Thailand 28 December 2004. Nearly 1,000 people were killed, among them more than 700 foreign tourists, in southern Thailand, according to the deputy interior minister. AFP PHOTO/ROSLAN RAHMAN (Photo credit should read ROSLAN RAHMAN/AFP/Getty Images) (Image: AFP/Getty Images)
“I have no doubt this will be a cataclysmic event, but have no idea when it will happen – it could easily be centuries or even millennia down the line,” McGuire said.
The Cumbre Vieja volcanic ridge last erupted in 2021, with the eruption lasting 85 days and destroying more than 2,800 buildings.
Lava flows engulfed homes, roads, parks and farmland across nearly 12 square kilometres of La Palma, compelling thousands of residents to evacuate.
The deadliest tsunami in recorded history struck across the Indian Ocean on Boxing Day 2004, claiming the lives of more than 227,000 people across 15 countries.
It was sparked by a powerful 9.1 magnitude earthquake off the coast of Indonesia, unleashing enormous waves upon coastal communities in nations including Thailand, Sri Lanka and India.
In parts of Indonesia, waves reached heights of up to 167ft, while around 1.7 million people were displaced.
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