---
title: "Video Shows Church Collapsing After Being Hit by Lava"
description: "A shocking video shows the moment a church collapses in a cloud of dark ashes on the Spanish island of La Palma."
date: "2021-09-27"
modified: "2021-09-27"
authors:
  - name: "Victor Tangermann"
    job_title: "Senior Editor"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/video-church-collapsing-hit-lava"
categories:
  - "Science & Energy"
tags:
  - "spain"
  - "the digest"
  - "volcano"
  - "volcanoes"
---

# Video Shows Church Collapsing After Being Hit by Lava

![A shocking video shows the moment a church collapses in a cloud of dark ashes on the Spanish island of La Palma.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/video-church-collapsing-hit-lava.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: Kike Rincon/Europa Press via Getty Images\</em\>*

## Volcano Island

Shocking footage shows the moment a church collapses in a cloud of dark ashes on the Spanish island of La Palma.

The island, which is home to around 85,000 inhabitants, was rocked by the [eruption of the Cumbre Vieja volcano](<https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/la-palma-volcano-eruption-intl/index.html>) this month that's destroyed more than 500 buildings and 12 miles of roads, [*The Washington Post* reports](<https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2021/09/27/lapalma-volcano-church-collapse/>).

The bell tower of a small church on the island succumbed to the forces of the flowing lava over the weekend, a powerful display of the volcano's raw power.

https://twitter.com/La_SER/status/1442183140731129858

## Lava Flows

On Friday, new vents caused more blistering lava to spew forth, almost five days after the volcano started erupting.

Now, the eruption is finally starting to slow down with the volcano entering a "low activity" phase, [according to the *Associated Press*](<https://apnews.com/article/europe-africa-canary-islands-spain-atlantic-ocean-a1a4ba8906dea1f42d4cf327441533c1>).

The lava is now making its way down a steep slope, where it's approaching the shore. As of Monday, however, the lava flows are still about half a mile away from the ocean.

But if lava were to ever drip into the water, superheated plumes of water could pose a health threat to locals, officials from Involcan, the Canary Islands’ volcanology institute, warned in a [Facebook post](<https://www.facebook.com/INVOLCAN/posts/309129754351354>).

Once lava hits water, a thermal shock generates plumes of hydrocholoric acid and shards of volcanic glass, which can result in skin irritations and inflammation of the respiratory tract.

**READ MORE:** [Video shows church bell tower collapse after being hit by lava on La Palma](<https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2021/09/27/lapalma-volcano-church-collapse/>) \[*The Washington Post*\]

**More on volcanoes:** *[Volcano Flings Lava Nearly a Mile High, Swallows Houses Whole](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/volcano-flings-lava-swallows-houses>)*

## Author
I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/vtanger.bsky.social>)