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Roughly 600 people were evacuated Tuesday on Spain's El Hierro Island in the Canaries due to the eruption of a nearby underwater volcano. They remained outside their homes on Wednesday as authorities feared an impending eruption.
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Spain's Instituto Geographico Nacional (IGN) confirmed on Tuesday that an underwater eruption was occurring about three miles off the southern coastline of El Hierro.
El Hierro is the smallest of the Canary Islands, an archipelago located in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Morocco. Local authorities announced on Tuesday that residents and tourists would be evacuated from the village of La Restinga because of the risk of another eruption closer to the coast.
La Restinga is the southernmost town in the Canaries.
El Hierro has experienced over 10,000 earthquakes since July 19, a signal that magma is rising toward the Earth's surface.
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All three of the seismic stations on El Hierro registered low frequency volcanic tremors in the south of the island, according to ING.
The present volcanic activity is believed to be occurring at a depth of nearly 2,000 feet (600 meters) below sea level.
Scientists from ING, CSIC, and the University of Cadiz are trying to determine if the subsea volcanic vent is widening and, if so, if it is widening in the direction of El Hierro.
Reports came in on Monday from crews aboard four separate ships that noticed the presence of dead fish floating on the surface. Scientists said the fish were likely killed by gas escaping from the volcano.
Pointing to "uncertainty over the coming days," authorities raised the warning level to "red alert" on Tuesday for La Restinga, while the rest of the island remained just below that on "yellow alert."
Residents of the town were summoned to a football field on Tuesday where they were briefed on evacuation procedures.
"Facing a change in the seismic event that is affecting El Hierro Island, and as a preventative measure, we are carrying out the relocation of the population of La Restinga," a local government spokesman said in a statement.
Spain's Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero met with his cabinet Tuesday evening for an emergency briefing on the developments.
Most of the evacuees found refuge with friend and relatives in other villages, though dozens of others, mostly tourists, spent Tuesday evening in a student dormitory and a local gym.
