Video Shows Lava Flowing Down Street After La Palma Volcanic Eruption

Properties have been destroyed by a flowing river of lava after a volcanic eruption hit the Spanish island of La Palma over the weekend.

The eruption, which began on Sunday, has caused thousands to flee, with lava spewing from a new crack in the active Cumbre Vieja volcano.

Footage shared to Twitter by Spanish firefighters shows a wall of lava slowly moving through a town following the eruption. Smoke and flames rise around it, with the emergency personnel only able to watch.

The firefighter account wrote in a video caption, translated from Spanish: "The force of nature against which we can do nothing."

More footage, shared by Spain's Civil Guard, shows smoke rising in the distance shortly following Sunday's eruption.

The Civil Guard said at the time that a number of towns and neighborhoods were in the process of being cleared, and estimated that between 5,000 and 10,000 people would have to be evacuated.

A Civil Guard officer was also seen carrying a goat into a car in order to transport it away from the eruption.

Drone footage, shared by Reuters, showed a wall of lava encroaching on a property and spilling into a steaming swimming pool.

No fatalities or injuries had been reported as of Tuesday morning EDT, according to CNN.

The BBC reported on Monday that the volcano last erupted about 50 years ago.

Royal Visit

Meanwhile, Spanish newspaper AS said that Spain's King Felipe and Queen Letizia would be heading to La Palma on Thursday to visit the island's affected areas. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has delayed a trip to a New York UN summit to focus on rescue efforts.

On Tuesday morning, the Copernicus Emergency Management Service, which provides satellite imagery analysis, released a map of the lava flow on Twitter and said that 166 buildings had been destroyed. The service added that the lava had covered 103 hectares at that point.

La Palma is home to two large volcanic centers, and its northern part is dominated by the Caldera de Taburiente, a large volcanic crater.

To the south of the island is Cumbre Vieja, the currently erupting volcano. It's been the site of a number of historic eruptions that have been recorded since the 15th century.

Stanley Williams, a volcanologist, told the Scholastic Network educational publishing company that lava can get to temperatures as high as 2,282 degrees Fahrenheit.