Dramatic Videos Show La Palma Volcano Erupting in Spain's Canary Islands

A volcano erupted on Sunday on La Palma in the Canary Islands—a Spanish archipelago off the coast of northwest Africa. Dramatic videos of the event showed several aspects of the eruption, including lava and ash spewing out of the ground.

La Palma's local government reported the eruption of the Cumbre Vieja volcano at around 3:30 p.m. local time on Sunday after seismologists had recorded a series of tremors. The strongest of these tremors measured 4.2 in magnitude.

Scientists observed an increase in seismic activity in the days preceding the eruption. On Friday last week the Canary Islands Volcanology Institute (Involcan) said that it had, at some points, recorded more than 400 earthquakes in a single hour.

On Saturday, Involcan reported a total of more than 25,000 earthquakes in the area over the previous nine days.

And prior to the eruption on Sunday, the agency said the "current seismic swarm represents a significant change in the activity of the Cumbre Vieja volcano."

Local authorities warned residents of the increased risk of an eruption on Saturday. And in the hours before the eruption, they announced the temporary closure of public recreational spots, while also ordering the precautionary evacuation of people with disabilities from certain areas.

One video released by Involcan shows the volcano after the eruption started on Sunday. A plume of ash can be seen spewing out of the ground.

The aerial footage below was captured by Spain's Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, showing the smoke and lava spewing from the site of the eruption.

Video captured by Spain's National Geographic Institute (IGN) shows a stream of lava flowing across a road on the island on Sunday, blocking off the route.

The Guardia Civil—one of Spain's two national law enforcement agencies—also captured dramatic footage of the eruption using helicopter crews. These images show the extent of the ash plume and the lava flowing down the mountainside.

Finally, footage captured by an Involcan team shows lava from the eruption glowing brightly after night had fallen on the island on Sunday, as well as trees being consumed by flames. Scientists recorded lava temperatures of up to 1,967 degrees Fahrenheit.

Several Spanish government agencies have been involved in the response to the eruption, including Involcan, the La Palma local government, firefighters, police and military units from neighboring Canary Islands.

Canary Islands President Angel Victor Torres told reporters at a press conference on Sunday night that 5,000 people had been evacuated and no injuries had been reported so far, according to Reuters.

Police said that as many as 10,000 people could be evacuated from areas surrounding the volcano.