The Cumbre Vieja volcano sends huge plumes of thick black smoke into the sky, churning up molten lava that oozed down the mountainside on the Spanish island of La Palma.

A surge of lava destroyed around 100 homes on Spain's Canary Islands a day after the Cumbre Vieja volcano erupted, forcing 5,500 people to leave the area, local authorities said. The volcano erupted on Sunday afternoon, sending vast plumes of thick black smoke into the sky and belching molten lava that oozed down the mountainside on the island of La Palma.

When La Cumbre Vieja began erupting and sending burning lava across huge swathes of land on the western side of La Palma in Spain's Canary Islands, thousands of people were forced to flee. Pensioners Margaretha and Luis were among those who had to leave their homes, and the couple are now taking refuge in their small boat in the port of Tazacorte until it is safe to return.

A large cloud of ash spews from the main cone of the Cumbre Vieja volcano on the island of La Palma in the Canaries, in images captured by researchers from the Spanish Geological and Mining Institute (IGME).

Spain's National Geological Institute said the volcano spewed blocks of molten lava "as large as three-story buildings." A partial cone collapse near the volcano's emission vent triggered the event.

The Cumbre Vieja volcano in the Canary Islands continues to spew lava with flows of it going down the island towards the sea. Accroding to experts, there is no chance of the eurption ending "in the short or medium term".

While some are fleeing the erupting volcano on the small Spanish Canary Island of La Palma, others are flying there precisely because of it. Stefanie Claudia Müller reports on an island torn between hardship and tourism.

Schools have been closed and flights canceled because of the massive amounts of ash being spewed from the Cumbre Vieja volcano. Scientists have said the eruption on the island of La Palma could last up to three months.

As the Cumbre Vieja volcano on La Palma continues to spew lava and ash, residents are worried as jobs dry up and state aid is slow to arrive. Some have already left the island, as DW correspondent Nicole Ris reports.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has described the end of the eruption on the tiny Canary island as the "best Christmas present." The volcano flared for more than 85 days, causing nearly €1 billion in damage.

Communication with the Pacific island is still spotty after a massive volcanic eruption spewed ash into the atmosphere and triggered a tsunami that flooded coastlines from Japan to the United States

Authorities have asked people living near the volcano to evacuate as a precaution, warning that more eruptions are possible.