The Cumbre Vieja volcano erupted Sunday on the Spanish Canary Island, La Palma. Earthquakes tremored across the island all weekend, which made officials suspect an eruption was coming.

The strongest earthquake Sunday was measured at a magnitude of 4.2.

The Canary Islands Volcanology Institute tweeted news of the eruption at 3:23 p.m. local time. The explosion took place around the western slope of the volcano known as "Cabeza de Vaca."

The last time the Cumbre Vieja volcano had erupted was in 1971.

The volcano sent rivers of lava straight towards two villages in the Cumbre Vieja national park. Two hours into the eruption, evacuations were ordered for four villages including El Paso and Los Llanos de Aridane.

According to the island’s government, authorities were able to evacuate some people and farm animals nearby before the eruption started at 3:15 pm.

The volcano came after more than 25,000 earthquakes had been detected in the past nine days around the Cumbre Vieja volcano, The Volcanology Institute wrote in a Facebook post.

This was referred to as an “earthquake swarm.”

The eruption has caused serious damage to nearby civilizations. La Palama government has warned people to stay clear of the lava.

"We call on people to exercise extreme caution and to stay away from the eruption area in order to avoid unnecessary risks," the local government tweeted on Sunday.

"Likewise, it is very important to keep roads clear so that they can be used by our land operatives."

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