On the island of La Palma, part of Spain's Canary Islands, authorities have warned of a possible volcanic eruption after intense seismic activity over the past few days.
The authorities of the island activated the yellow alert level, the second of four levels, the newspaper El Pais reported on Thursday.
People in the south of the small island with around 83,000 residents were told to prepare light luggage along with their mobile phones, important documents and any medication they may need should they have to evacuate.
Since last Saturday, more than 4,200 seismic shocks have been registered in the area of the Cumbre Vieja volcanic chain in the south of the island.
The tremors are getting stronger and closer to the surface, the National Geographic Institute (IGN) announced. In addition, the ground had been slightly pushed upwards in some places. This indicates that magma is accumulating under the Cumbre Vieja.
Last eruption in 1971
"We cannot make a short-term forecast. But everything indicates that it will evolve into earthquakes of larger magnitudes that will be more intense and felt by the population," IGN director in the Canary Islands, Maria Jose Blanco, was quoted by El Pais.
The last eruption in La Palma took place in October 1971, when the Teneguia volcano spewed lava for more than three weeks after a crack appeared in the south of the island.
La Palma, unlike the better-known islands of Gran Canaria, Fuerteventura, Lanzarote and Tenerife, is not a popular tourist destination.
