OVPF reported that a seismic crisis at Piton de la Fournaise began at 1027 on 10 February, accompanied by rapid deformation. Volcanic tremor began just 23 minutes later, at 1050, heralding the start of a new eruption. During an overflight conducted during 1300-1330 in partly cloudy weather, observers noted that several fissures had opened on the E flank of Dolomieu Crater, between the crater rim and 2,000 m elevation. The fissures all were at least 1 km long and produced lava fountains that were no higher than 10 m. Lava flows had traveled E to 1,700 m elevation by 1315. In the evening mapping of the lava flows based on satellite data revealed a larger flow field that what was visually observed during the overflight hours before. Lava flows spanned from the E to the S, with the farthest flow traveling E to 1,400 m elevation. The data showed that the fissures at the highest elevation had opened in the same area as those from the 18 February and 11 June 2019 eruptions.

Geological Summary. Piton de la Fournaise is a massive basaltic shield volcano on the French island of Réunion in the western Indian Ocean. Much of its more than 530,000-year history overlapped with eruptions of the deeply dissected Piton des Neiges shield volcano to the NW. Three scarps formed at about 250,000, 65,000, and less than 5,000 years ago by progressive eastward slumping, leaving caldera-sized embayments open to the E and SE. Numerous pyroclastic cones are present on the floor of the scarps and their outer flanks. Most recorded eruptions have originated from the summit and flanks of Dolomieu, a 400-m-high lava shield that has grown within the youngest scarp, which is about 9 km wide and about 13 km from the western wall to the ocean on the E side. More than 150 eruptions, most of which have produced fluid basaltic lava flows, have occurred since the 17th century. Only six eruptions, in 1708, 1774, 1776, 1800, 1977, and 1986, have originated from fissures outside the scarps.

Source: Observatoire Volcanologique du Piton de la Fournaise (OVPF)