La Palma has captured the attention of viewers around the world and catapulted into Netflix’s top 10, but is this exciting series based on any truth?
The drama-filled limited series, currently ranked No. 4 on Netflix, is set in the Canary Islands and follows a young scientist, a team of geological researchers, and a family of four as they face a natural disaster.
The groups find themselves fighting to survive after a The volcano’s eruption threatens to cause the largest tsunami the world has ever seen.
La Palma, which is one of the Spanish islands located off the coast of northwest Africa in the Atlantic Ocean, is a very real place. La Palma is a popular destination for nature lovers, with beautiful panoramic hiking trails, volcanic landscapes and spectacular beaches.
The area is also home to Cumbre Vieja, which is the most active volcanic ridge in the area. While it is true that there is a volcano that has recently erupted, it did not cause a tsunami.
The disaster depicted in the series is not based on a real-life event, but rather on a scientific theory.
Cumbre Viej last erupted in 2021, which lasted three months and caused extensive damage. At the time, NPR reported that it destroyed: “About 3,000 buildings, buried banana plantations and vineyards, ruined irrigation systems and cut off roads.”
According to the US Geological SurveyThe theory that collapsing volcanoes could generate massive ocean-wide waves known as “megatsunamis” is not new.
La Palma has captured the attention of viewers around the world and has catapulted into Netflix’s top 10, but is it based on any truth?
A study published by Geophysical research letters in 2001 he hypothesized that in a future eruption, the Cumbre Vieja volcano could collapse into the ocean, which could trigger a landslide movement and subsequently produce tsunami waves.
However, the theory was questioned the following year, in 2002, when the editor of the journal Science of Tsunami Hazards, George Pararas-Carayannis, wrote: ‘The threat of megatsunamis generated by the collapse of stratovolcanoes on oceanic islands has been greatly exaggerated. “You can’t expect megatsunamis.”
True story or not, the series has divided opinion among those who have seen it, and many share their criticism on social networks.
Some were not fans of what they saw and did not hold back their complaints.
Someone wrote on X: ‘OMG…surprisingly bad in so many ways. Very poor acting and overdubbing, cheap and unpleasant scenes and the plot worthy of shame. Based on some hypothetical scenarios, but they go beyond fiction.’
Another added: ‘#LaPalmaNetflix waste of time.’
A third chimed in: “La Palma on Netflix had some good but also bad plot moments.”
Others were big fans of the series.
The groups find themselves fighting for survival after a volcano eruption threatens to cause the largest tsunami the world has ever seen.
The disaster depicted in the series is not based on a real-life event, but rather on a scientific theory.
Cumbre Viej last erupted in 2021, which lasted three months and caused extensive damage. The eruption in 2021 appears in the photo.
One user wrote on Rotten Tomatoes: ‘I don’t understand the hate, I was completely caught up in this show and loved it!’
A fifth chimed in on X: “Unpopular opinion, I actually enjoyed La Palma on @netflix.”
A sixth tweeted: “La Palma on Netflix is a good show.”
La Palma stars Thea Sofie Loch Næss, Anders Baasmo and Alma Günther.
Other stars include Ingrid Bolsø Berdal, Jenny Evensen, Amund Harboe and Jorge de Juan.
The drama is written by Lars Gudmestad and Rosenløw Eeg and directed by Kasper Barfoed.