A further 300 people were evacuated from their homes on Thursday due to the ongoing eruption of the Cumbre Vieja volcano on the Spanish island of La Palma, local authorities said, Trend reports citing Xinhua.
On Tuesday, 700 people were ordered to leave their homes, meaning that around 7,000 of the island's approximately 80,000 inhabitants now live in temporary accommodation.
The three active lava flows have surged since the partial collapse of the northern face of the volcano on Saturday. Data collected by the European Union's (EU) Copernicus satellite show that lava has already engulfed around 680 hectares of land (the island has an area of 70,800 hectares), 34 hectares more than on Wednesday.
Satellite images show that over 1,600 buildings have been impacted by the lava flows. Of these, 1,548 have been destroyed and the rest are at risk.
The current eruption is now on its 26th day and has already lasted five days longer than the 1971 eruption, which was the last to affect the island.