Eruption in Cumbre Vieja volcano intensifies as new vent emerges

The airport was shut down on Saturday because of a thick plume of smoke that has extended four kilometers into the air.

Thousands of people have been evacuated and more than 350 homes have been destroyed since September 19 when the eruption began in the Cumbre Vieja national park.

The alert level was raised to its highest level—red—due to the eruption.

The volcano previously erupted twice in the 20th century, in 1949 (Volcán San Juan) and again in 1971.

The Cumbre Vieja volcano lies on the southern third of La Palma (Canary Islands) and rises about 2 kilometers above sea level and 6 kilometers above the seafloor.

It is the fastest-growing volcano in the archipelago and thus dangerous in terms of collapses and landslides. (ILKHA)