Three more towns have been evacuated on the island of La Palma in the Canaries amid “intensifying volcanic activity”, emergency services have said.

Authorities ordered the evacuation of the towns of Tajuya, Tacande de Abajo and the part of Tacande de Arriba that
had not already been evacuated due to a volcanic eruption.

Residents in those towns were initially told to stay indoors but emergency services said they decided to take more serious precautions due to increased volcanic activity.

Firefighters have also retreated from the town of Todoque due to intensifying volcanic explosions and a “high presence of ash”, the fire service said on Twitter.

The volcano erupted five days ago and has since destroyed almost 400 buildings, including many homes, on the western side of the island of 85,000 people.

Almost 7,000 people have had to flee their homes amid loud explosions, a large cloud of ash and a cracked fissure that has spewed out more lava.

The ash cloud, which rose four miles into the sky, forced regional airline Binter to temporarily stop flights.

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Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said he and ministers plan to declare La Palma a “catastrophic zone” and provide aid to those affected.

No casualties have been yet been reported, which some say is due to the speed of the evacuations.

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