Tenerife volcano scare stories lambasted

DESPITE British newspapers, and even some Spanish ones, desperately jumping on the bandwagon and warning alarmed travellers of an imminent eruption on Tenerife’s Mount Teide, the hyberbole was completely unfounded.

Scientists were dragged away from their work to confirm that there is no threat at all, with the Volcanology Institute of the Canary Islands and the National Geographic confirming that there was no seismic activity, but rather low level tectonic movements.

An official at The Tenerife Tourism Corporation described the British tabloid coverage as “clickbait at its worst”.

She told local media: “The first most people on the island even knew of the seismic activity was when the article in the Daily Express appeared. No-one here even felt the earth move. And saying an eruption was imminent alongside a photograph of lava flowing is just irresponsible and a downright lie”.

Scare stories about Mount Teide and its ‘imminent eruption’ are standard fare for tabloids looking for coverage and come up every few years or so regardless of the evidence.

Mount Teide is Spain’s highest point and makes Tenerife the tenth highest island in the world at over 12,000ft. It remains active and last erupted in 1909, while the natural park it sits on is one of the most visited in the world.