This is the reason people are worried about the Mount Teide volcano threat on Tenerife
Volcanic eruption on nearby La Palma could send 100m-high waves travelling across the Atlantic Ocean as fast as a jumbo jet, experts fear
FEARS a Tenerife volcano could erupt after a series of mini earthquakes has renewed concern that a similar eruption on a nearby island could cause a mega tsunami.
The seismic activity prompted fears the giant volcano was about to erupt.
And it has renewed concerns about Cumbre Vieja on the nearby island of La Palma.
Situated on the tiny island 80 miles from Tenerife, experts have long-feared the next eruption could cause the volcano to collapse - sending billions of tons of rock into the sea.
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The collapse would lead to what experts have described as a mega-tsunami with waves as high as 100 metres travelling across the Atlantic Ocean as fast as a jumbo jet.
In the event of a collapse, waves are expected to pound the East Coast of America and Southern England - as well as South America, West Africa and Western Europe.
The 2,000m-high volcano last erupted in 1949 and is due to erupt again at any time.
Professor McGuire of the Benfield Grieg Hazard Research Centre told the : "Eventually, the whole rock will collapse into the water, and the collapse will devastate the Atlantic margin.
"We need to be out there now looking at when an eruption is likely to happen...otherwise there will be no time to evacuate major cities."
Experts cannot say for certain whether the next eruption will cause the volcano stack to collapse.
But many agree it is almost certain to happen within the next few thousand years.
Fears about the Canary Islands' volcanic activity were renewed over the weekend with the revelation tremors were being recorded underneath Tenerife's Mount Teide.
There was a huge spike in tectonic activity in the early hours of Sunday, according to the Volcanology Institute of the Canary Islands (Involcan).
It reported 92 microquakes in Adeje and Vilaflor — with one measuring as high as 1.5 on the Richter scale.
A team of experts has been sent to the area where they recorded an “abnormal” amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere — an indicator that an eruption could be imminent.
Most of the mini earthquakes happened deep underground — some as deep as 13km below the surface — sparking fears the famous volcano which formed the island could blow.
Involcan said in a statement: “We are registering an important seismic rally on the island of Tenerife.
“In principle, these earthquakes are very low magnitude, consistent with those that occur in active volcanoes.
“The number of earthquakes is provisional pending the analysis of the signals more closely, but we can qualify this activity as a seismic swarm whose pattern is an alignment with prevailing direction northeast to southwest “.
Just last week Involcan researcher Pedro Hernandez warned that the Canary Islands -- which welcome millions of tourists every year -- could experience an eruption as regularly as once every forty years, the reports.
However, a spokesperson from the Tenerife Tourism Corporation urged calm, saying: "Due to its volcanic origin, Tenerife is continuously monitored and any seismic activity associated with magma would be detected in very early stages.
"It is worth pointing out that the last volcanic eruption that took place on the island happened over 100 years ago, causing no personal injuries of any kind."
The collection of Spanish islands off the coast of northwestern Africa were all formed by volcanic activity.
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