Canaries orders evacuation of volcano-threatened El Hierro

The regional government of the Canary Islands has ordered the evacuation of La Restinga, on the island of El Hierro, as a precaution against the possibility of a new deep-water volcanic eruption. The National Geographic Institute (ING) has been monitoring a series of some 10,000 tremors, which began on July 19, and believes that the eruption is taking place at around 1,000 meters below sea level some five kilometers from La Restinga.

The 600 or so residents of the area on the smallest island in the archipelago were asked to convene at the local soccer field after an evacuation order was signed by the premier of the Canaries and the Emergency and Security Coordination Center. The seismic-volcanic alert level has been raised from yellow to red.

The reaction of La Restinga's residents was mixed. Some chose to remain basking in the sun on the breakwater while others took to their cars and hurried to the rendezvous point. Those that heeded the evacuation order will be moved to preordained secure areas by the authorities.

On Tuesday afternoon, the possibility of a further eruption closer to the island was gathering credibility among experts at the ING and the Superior Council of Scientific Investigations.

"What we are possibly on the point of seeing is the birth of a volcano," said Emilio Carreño, director of the ING.

Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero on Tuesday evening called a meeting of ministers and experts at La Moncloa to be appraised of the unfolding situation. Vulcanologists on El Hierro believe that a new eruption may occur closer to shore.