In September 2021, a volcanic eruption took place on the Spanish Island of La Palma in the Canary Islands. The eruption occurred at the Cumbre Vieja volcanic ridge, on the western flank of the island. This shook the world as it lasted for several days and caused significant destruction. The catastrophe resulted in the dislodging of thousands of residents turning lush green landscapes into barren wastelands.
La Palma, the new Netflix series streaming since December 12, is a Norwegian series about the same. It is not a docuseries or based on true events, but it is rather a fictional story with the La Palma Island being real.
Here are the five chilling facts about the 2021 La Palma volcanic eruption that you should know before watching the new Netflix series.
Five chilling facts about the 2021 La Palma Island volcanic eruption
Before binge-watching the four-episode show on Netflix, these are the must-know interesting facts about the catastrophe of La Palma 2021.
1) The volcano eruption lasted for 86 days
The La Palma volcanic eruption started on September 19, 2021, and lasted for 86 days till December 25, with the river of molten lava causing significant property and infrastructure damage. Over the last six centuries, La Palma island has suffered six eruptions of very similar characteristics and styles. The La Palma eruption is the longest-known eruption of the Island.
2) The volcano led to a significant amount of damage
The eruption caused nearly one billion euros in damage and destroyed over one thousand homes. Two rivers of lava flowed down the hillside consuming houses, and banana farms, and hampering infrastructure.
On December 13, the volcano released a large amount of toxic sulphur dioxide gases. As a result, 30,000 residents were ordered to stay indoors by the authorities. The eruption destroyed 3000 buildings, over 70 kms of roads, and banana plantations. This led to the evacuation of around 7000 people and one death from inhaling toxic gases.
3) The 2021 eruption was the first sub-aerial eruption in 50 years
The 2021 La Palma volcanic eruption was the first subaerial eruption in 50 years to happen in the Canary Islands. Subaerial eruptions are the ones that take place in open air over the Earth's surface and not underwater or underground. The most damaging one since 1944 is the Vesuvius eruption. It is the largest natural disaster in Spain in terms of direct loss, while the indirect loss is still being assessed.
4) The island is considered a volcanically active zone
Like all the Canary Islands, La Palma is considered a volcanically active zone. The island originated due to submarine volcanic activity. Over millions of years, the region has become more prone to magma accumulation beneath the ground of the region deforming the oceanic crust. Between 2017 and 2021, recurrent earthquakes indicated magma injection from the mantle.
5) Causes behind the eruption
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Starting from September 11, a series of earthquakes were registered in the region where the eruptions occurred. Around 6000 earthquakes occurred with magnitudes ranging from 1 to 3.8 mbLg. Ten days after the eruption, lava started to expel from the volcano.
Officials of La Palma recorded 1130 tremors in the area when the eruption was taking place and 15000 ft tons of ashes were propelled into the air. All these factors played a role in the sudden eruption of one of the most violent volcanos.
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