Tenerife Cabildo has slammed the British tabloid press for their reporting of the mini quakes in the island.

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Typical of the headlines was the Daily Express with “Panic on Tenerife amid fears huge Mount Teide is about to blow!” The article was accompanied by an image of a volcano erupting and spewing lava and ash.

The Daily Star had “Brit Hols Volcano Ready to Blow” and again showed images of huge flames leaping from a volcano that clearly is not Teide.

The Truth

Teide is one of the most carefully monitored volcanoes in the world. Generally there are a dozen or so of these “Mini quakes” there every month. What was unusual this time is that there was a cluster of around 90, which experts think were caused by undersea tectonic movements. There was no movement of magma, which would be the first sign of any volcanic activity. Teide last erupted over 100 years ago, with no loss of life. The volcano types here have slow flowing lava, they don’t “blow.”

These mini quakes are not even strong enough for the people in Tenerife to feel.

Unusually, The Cabildo de Tenerife issued a press release in English, explaining all the above and gently slamming the British Newspapers: “The Tenerife Tourism Corporation advises obtaining information exclusively from official sources rather than from sensationalist articles to avoid unnecessary fear and confusion.”

So, in summary:

  • Teide is not about the erupt
  • The mini quakes weren’t even strong enough for people to notice them
  • If the volcano does erupt at some time in the future, we will have plenty of warning, and it will be a slow spewing of lava

Finally, also according to the Daily Express: “Britain is set for heaviest snowfalls in years” and winter 2016 will “unleash FOUR MONTHS of heavy snow and sub zero temperatures.”

Our advice? Get booked up for a trip to The Canaries!