Fears volcano on Tenerife could erupt after 22 earthquakes rock island

The holiday island of Tenerife has been rocked with a swarm of 22 earthquakes in just four days, leading to fears the volcano Mount Teide might erupt.

Tremors struck the village of Vilaflor over the past week – although they were not very powerful, with the strongest a magnitude 1.4 quake on Tuesday morning.

The mountain is a huge tourist attraction, visited by three million people, but is an active volcano which last erupted in 1909.

The Volcanological Institute of the Canary Islands say that the swarm is nothing to worry about – and typical of a volcano in a ‘quiescent’ ie dormant phase.

[Photo: Flickr/TimOve]

Involcan said, ‘Tenerife is an oceanic active volcanic island and as typical active volcanic system has a background seismic activity related to its volcanism. Seismic swarms are common in active volcanoes even during quiescent periods, and Tenerife is currently facing a period of quiescent volcanic activity.

‘The volcano monitoring program at Tenerife follows the highest international standards and it is performed by instrumental permanent networks, as well as periodic scientific campaings, which allow to monitor the seismicity, gas emission and ground deformation with an unprecedent level of detail.’