Tenerife Battles Volcanic Eruption Hoaxes Amid Teide Quakes
Tenerife officials are urging calm and combating widespread social media hoaxes about a volcanic eruption amidst a series of seismic swarms near Teide.
Dealing with the growing number of earthquakes near Teide in Tenerife has become harder recently. This is because a lot of false information and hoaxes about a supposed volcanic eruption have been spreading on social media.
The National Geographic Institute (IGN) reported that the area experienced about 6,000 small earthquakes during the most recent 'seismic swarm.' This episode lasted 32 hours, starting at midnight on Sunday and ending at 8 AM on Tuesday.
Because of this, Rosa Dávila, the president of the Tenerife Island Council, has publicly asked people to stay calm despite online posts about more volcanic activity. The Council confirmed they are working to inform and prepare the public. Dávila stressed that Teide is "probably the most monitored volcano in the world."
Alongside the actual geological activity, the 112 Canarias emergency service has warned about a rise in unofficial information, which is causing worry and confusion. They've seen messages on social media, some even repeated by news shows on Radio Televisión Canaria, that include: claims connecting earthquakes on mainland Spain to Teide "waking up," posts about strange animal behavior, videos faking smoke or underground sounds, and even AI-generated images showing volcanic activity.
By Tuesday night, Tenerife had experienced its sixth "seismic swarm" in under three weeks, according to the Island Council. This led to a new meeting of the scientific committee for the Canary Islands Volcanic Emergency Plan (PEVOLCA), scheduled for Friday at 10 AM, to update their assessment. Emergency services are again urging people to only check official sources and avoid sharing unverified information. This helps prevent hoaxes and unnecessary public alarm.
Separately, the IGN also detected a magnitude 4.1 earthquake at 12:26 PM (Canary Islands time) today. This tremor happened at Volcán de Enmedio, in the stretch of sea between Tenerife and Gran Canaria, 10 kilometers deep, and was felt in several towns on Tenerife. However, the Volcanological Institute of the Canary Islands (INVOLCAN) has made it clear that this earthquake is "not at all related" to the volcanic activity seen in Tenerife in recent weeks.