Spanish Civil Guard flies over erupting volcano

A volcano on Spain’s Atlantic Ocean island of La Palma erupted Sunday after a weeklong buildup of seismic activity, prompting authorities to speed up evacuations for some 1,000 people.

Huge plumes of black-and-white smoke shot out from a volcanic ridge where scientists had been closely following the accumulation of molten lava below the surface.

Some lava flows are now creeping toward isolated homes.

La Palma, which has a population of 85,000, is one of eight islands in Spain’s Canary Islands archipelago.

The last volcanic eruption on the island was 50 years ago and lasted for three weeks.