The area around the volcano that has been erupting on the Canary Island of La Palma since September has been hit by an unusually large number of earthquakes, according to a Wednesday report.
Within the past 24 hours, more than 370 tremors have been recorded, state broadcaster RTVE said - a new record since eruption began on 19 September.
As the earthquakes are occurring at a depth of 30 to 40 kilometres below the surface of the earth, there is no reason for concern, according to the authorities.
In the main cone, activity "continues to be low and irregular," the emergency committee spokesperson Maria Jose Blanco stressed to journalists.
After weeks of spewing lava, the volcano is emitting mainly vapours at present. However, according to experts, the sheer number of tremors occurring indicates that the volcano will remain active for some time.
Lava from the volcano, which can reach up to 1,300 degrees Celsius, has destroyed almost 2,750 buildings since September, according to the latest official assessment.
Metre-thick lava layer
At last count, a total of around 1,150 hectares of land have been covered in a metre-thick layer of lava, an area equivalent to 1,600 football fields and taking up around 1.6% of the island's total territory.
More than 7,000 residents have been evacuated from villages in the lava's path.
For weeks now, the lava flows have been moving very slowly, leading experts to estimate that areas as-yet-unaffected by the eruption are now relatively low risk, despite a new lava flow appearing at the start of the week.
