Canary Islands: Volcanic eruption results in evacuation of over 5,000

The Cumbre Vieja volcano is spewing lava and destroying dozens of houses and areas in La Palma.

The military and civil guard has been deployed to help civilians, as authorities closely assess the damage caused by the eruption.

La Palma island is home to about 80,000 people and the volcano lies south of it.

The volcano last erupted in 1971. Authorities have set up temporary shelters after mandatory evacuation orders were sent out to four villages.

Over 5,000 civilians have been evacuated so far.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has delayed his departure for the UN General Assembly in New York.

Instead has arrived on La Palma to oversee the rescue and relief efforts.

La Palma had been on high alert after more than 20,000 tremors were recorded in a week around the volcano.

Various videos including footage from drones show the fiery red lava slowly moving towards the coast.

Many people are just outside the 1.2 mile wide exclusion zone, to watch and record the eruption from their phones.