Fury over 'volcano fears' headlines as experts refute British tabloid claims
Sunday, May 13, 2018 @ 11:19 PM
BRITISH tabloid headlines warning of volcanic eruptions in Tenerife – illustrated with a picture of lava spilling from a crater in Hawaii – have annoyed Spanish geologists and tourism industry workers.
The front page of the Sunday Express reads: “Tenerife volcano alert: Shock as 270 earthquakes hit Brit holiday favourite Canary Islands.”
And in The Sun, a headline reads: “The Big One coming? Volcano fears for Brit tourists after 270 earthquakes strike near holiday hotspots Tenerife and Gran Canaria in past 10 days.”
A photograph in the Express article shows the Kilauea erupting in Hawaii, but refers to the Teide – a dormant volcano at the centre of one of the Canary Islands' most famous national parks, which has not erupted in well over a century and is visited by hordes of tourists daily, who walk into the crater as part of their visit.
And the connection between Canary Island earthquakes and a possible Teide eruption is nonsense, says expert David Calvo from the Canarian Institute of Vulcanology.
“What has happened is that the last few days has seen what we call a 'sismic swarm', or a string of very minor earthquakes in a short period of time – and in a volcanic region such as the Canary Islands, this is completely normal,” Calvo explains.
Read more at thinkSPAIN.com