The National Geographic Institute has updated the data of the new seismic swarm of La Palma and reports that up to 7:38 UTC, December 26, and since the beginning of the seismic series on the 23rd, a total of 602 earthquakes have occurred.

The epicenters of the localized earthquakes are located in a dispersed distribution, mainly on the western slope of Cumbre Vieja. Since the beginning of the series, the depth of the earthquakes has remained around 30 km and the maximum magnitude of the localized earthquakes is 2.3 mbLg.

The energy released in the form of earthquakes in the present series has reached an energy of 6 × 109 Joules.

The recent quakes, if they are volcanic in origin (which is not necessarily the case), might reflect a deep intrusion of magma in a lower storage area beneath the crust.

This seismic swarm is a sign of unrest. And such an increased activity is alarming to scientists as everybody knows that the collapse of this volcanic peak could lead to a disaster in Europe and along Northern America’s eastern coastline.

The video below explains how and why: