OVPDLF reported that the effusive phase of the eruption at Piton de la Fournaise ended at 0802 on 19 October; around the same time tremor started to increase, and then gradually increased again starting at 0800 on 22 October. Observers reported that a small explosion in the vent ejected spatter.

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

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 large 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. More than 150 eruptions, most of which have produced fluid basaltic lava flows, have occurred since the 17th century. Eruptions in 1708, 1774, 1776, 1800, 1977, and 1986 originated from fissures outside the scarps.