To be worried about volcanic activity in Tenerife?

[CantGetABreak]

Due to be going in August.

From what I can see, there's been increasing earthquake activity throughout July. The official line is that it's not of concern, but if you read all the expert articles they basically say an eruption is due at some point and there's very little way to say exactly when.

Looking at what happened in La Palma in 2021 it began the same, ramping up of earthquakes. People being told it wouldn't happen. Then it did.

But the trouble is Teide is much closer to major resorts than the La Palma one was, if it happened soon it would be peak holiday season plus the Tenerife eruption has been predicted to be larger than the La Palma one, with tsunamis and all sorts.

My family are not appreciating my worry putting a dampener on the holiday - so AIBU or is this a legitimate cause for concern? I think all the talk of wildfire evacuations and things for holidaymakers at the moment has got me jittery.

I watched a programme on the BBC about supertsunamis, and how the earthquakes there could trigger a tsunami so large they would wipe out most of Europe, North Africa and even the US Eastern coast. I wouldn't worry. We all are going to die of something and the chances of it being from a volcano are so low it is almost negligible.

Why do you think the scientists are non committal? Think about it for a second.

They are non committal because they don’t know. Not because they are part of some sort of conspiracy to keep tourists going to Tenerife.

There will be clear indications that the likelihood of an imminent eruption are increasing. Volcanoes are actually pretty predictable, geographically speaking. It’s earthquakes which are more concerning in general.

Volcanoes in developed countries very rarely have numerous fatalities, and it’s predominantly people who live in remote volcano side villages. Not people in tourist resorts.

However, your travel insurance almost definitely will not cover you for any disruption due to a volcanic eruption. And disruption is far, far more likely than any sort of serious impact (like injury or death) since it can ground planes etc. - so I’d take a credit card with me to cover extra expenses.

Hi Op, there is just no way of predicting a volcanic eruption with any certainty. The authorities are clearly of the opinion that the volcano is currently not doing anything especially unusual. This article might help your tsunami fears though!

https://www.usgs.gov/observatories/hvo/news/volcano-watch-canary-islands-mega-tsunami-hypothesis-and-why-it-doesnt-carry

Teide is always rumbling. The areas around the Canary Islands register many tremors all year round. If you really are this worried about it, pay to change your holiday location but it seems unnecessary.

We’re going next week. I haven’t heard anything about this. Honestly, I’ll still be going. I don’t feel you can always cover every eventuality or act on every story you read. They’ll know if/when it’s time to put out an imminent warning. There’s too many residents and tourists to mess about with delaying.

Also, the tsunami fear one is completely irrational - if Tiede erupted while you were ON Tenerife, the tsunami wouldn’t impact Tenerife itself. The water would be displaced FROM the point of the volcano. The displaced water would then travel through the seas and oceans, hitting the next coasts they reach (so Africa/mainland Europe and even America)

I'm the opposite, there's very little that could make me go! Good luck OP!

If an article I read yesterday about the Gulf Stream collapsing as early as 2025 is true then we're all pretty much fucked anyway. I'd probably go.... whilst simultaneously doing my own internal hand-wringing at increasing my own carbon footprint.

Vesuvius burps and farts (love that!) and has trails of steam coming out pretty much all the time, I’ve trekked up it. The place we are going to in August has numerous earthquakes and it had one on Sunday which was shallow depth and widely felt.

We were also in LA when we had a fairly decent wobble from an earthquake, you have to either accept the risk or avoid the areas and holiday elsewhere.

Where is that! Do you become a bit immune to it after a while?

Thank you, some good advice here.

@CantGetABreak if you are genuinely worried, take pictures of your passports, a phone battery power bank and a torch and always have water with you.

Many of those fleeing the fires were having to walk in the dark, phone batteries where dying because people were using them as torches and they then couldn’t get updates, phone families etc.

Genuinely curious OP. Why not let your friend take responsibility for her own choices? She chose to book there and it’s a reasonable expectation that people keep up to date with what’s happening in their intended destination.

do you always take on this burden for everyone and feel responsible to keep everyone safe?

I've been in Taormina as Etna erupted, best fireworks ever! Might need to book Tenerife ... I do like volcanoes

OP: have you missed this post by a poster who appears to be knowledgeable and informed?

Can’t help wondering why you booked a volcanic island if you worry about such things.

We have friends on La Palma and that is more active than Tenerife. In some places on LP the ground hasn’t fully cooled from the previous eruptions in 1970’s. There have been several significant eruptions in the last 100 years.
We’ve still been there on holiday and would happily go again. All the Canary Island volcanoes are heavily monitored.

Honestly, wherever you go outside the UK there is a risk of some sort. We are such a safe country in so many ways.

You probably have more chance of winning the euro millions than a pyroclastic explosion occurring the exact week you are there!

If you tend to catastrophise a lot like this then maybe some CBT would help you?

Sounds scary. I was talking to someone on the phone once when they suddenly said there was a quake. The few seconds while I waited for it to hit where I was were frightening, even though I knew it wouldn't cause damage. I would rather it just happened without me knowing.

I have family on both islands.

In La Palma they had been warned an eruption was imminent. It came as no surprise.

In Tenerife, this is currently of no concern.

... go on holiday and enjoy yourself.

Nature is dangerous, it's the biggest killer of all. Far more people are killed by nature than by other humans (death from illness or old age for example).

Volcanoes could erupt at any time. Sometimes you have notice, sometimes not. They're inherently dangerous and unpredictable places. It's not wise to see them as a tourist attraction, and if you do you have to accept the risk. It's a low risk it'll happen when you are there, but it's pretty much guaranteed that when it happens someone will be. See the White Island eruption in 2019, 20 dead, 2 missing presumed dead, 25 injured.

It's astonishing that people choose to live so close to such dangerous natural hazards. You don't need to be an expert in either science or ancient history to realise that when Vesuvius next erupts - and it's well overdue, making the next eruption likely to be more violent - that thousands will die. The whole area between Vesuvius and the Bay of Naples is built up and crowded.

I'm in Tenerrife now. The earthquakes are so small we inky know about them because of the news! They're minimal tremors.

I love in the Canaries and we have tremors and earthquakes all the time .. no alerts have been issued here so I honestly wouldn't let it worry you. Go and enjoy .. the weather is glorious right now!

Thank you for that insight. How much notice were your family in La Palma given to get out before it erupted?