Experts Downplay Tsunami Risk for Morocco Following Canary Islands Volcano Eruption

"According to current and past observations in the scientific community, a catastrophic scenario with many victims and major material damage like in Asia has less than 1% chance of occurring. [...] To reach a catastrophic scenario, the island would have to be destabilized with its half first flooded by the Atlantic before then completely disappearing under the waves," explains Nacer Jabour to Médias24.

According to him, what is currently visible is a localized eruption that is likely to resemble those that occurred in 1971. "During this previous event, there had been no tsunami except for some volcanic tremors that lasted a few weeks, without causing any victims and even less affecting neighboring Morocco," he continues, stressing that today we are simply witnessing the release of gas, magma and lava flowing down the slopes without incandescent clouds or powerful explosions and which should, therefore, not cause any human casualties on the island.

"Knowing that their trajectory will depend on the wind and that we do not know if they will go out to sea towards the American continent or towards our coasts, there is therefore no certainty, because it is the weather that will take over," the expert tempers. According to him, the only real risk that could happen is a lack of air visibility as had happened in Iceland with billions of particles in the air that had blocked all airports.