El proceso de comunicación e información durante la erupción de La Palma errores, aciertos, aprendizajes y propuestas de mejora

After nearly fifty years without showing obvious signs of volcanic activity on the surface, in 2021 a new eruption occurred in the area called Cabeza de Vaca, on La Palma (Canary Islands, Spain). The eruption lasted eighty-five days and produced numerous losses due to the extensive area affected by continuous lava flows and pyroclastic falls.

Although the volcanic dynamics were similar to other eruptions that occurred on the island in historical times, the follow-up it received from the media and social networks was totally different, with an international impact for several weeks. Throughout this coverage process, the volunteers from the Canary Islands Volcanoes Association observed some communication and information practices that could condition the management of the emergency, both positively and negatively. GeoTenerife, for its part, collected numerous testimonies from representatives of all the sectors involved in the volcanic crisis in a thorough audiovisual support work called Volcano Stories and recorded a documentary Lava bombs analyzing the role of communication and its impact. This monitoring was completed with the compilation of numerous communications made at different levels and by different means, where, among others, the "intentionality", techniques used and various problems observed were analyzed.

The great capacity of influence that social networks exerted in monitoring the volcanic eruption and even in decision-making was confirmed. With the aim of improving communication in future events involving natural hazards of short or long duration, we also provide a series of key recommendations for the different groups involved in monitoring the emergency.