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A church has been swallowed up by molten lava from a volcano which is continuing to erupt on the Spanish island of La Palma.

Footage captured by TV Canaria showed the church collapsing amid a dense plume of smoke.

The same church was almost destroyed a week earlier but the lava stopped just short of the church.

READ MORE: Toxic gas and new rivers of molten lava endanger Spanish island

Meanwhile, a massive cloud of ash is still preventing flights in and out of La Palma as molten rock is flung high into the air.

No flights arrived or departed, despite emergency workers clearing the ash from the airport runway.

Islanders faced a mixed picture of good and bad news with some evacuees allowed to return to their homes amid low seismic activity while authorities took stock of the damage caused.

Around 430 buildings have so far been destroyed in the countryside.

The volcano on La Palma, which is part of the volcanic Canary Islands off northwest Africa and is home to about 85,000 people, erupted on September 19.

The prompt evacuations of more than 6,000 people helped avoid casualties.

Life on the rest of La Palma, which is roughly 35 kilometres long and 20 kilometres wide at its broadest point, has been largely unaffected.

“We’re not in a state of total alarm,” the technical director of the volcano emergency response unit, Miguel Ángel Morcuende, told a news conference.

“Life on the island is continuing, though those close to the eruption are facing difficulties.”

The volcano mouth was still ejecting fiery molten rock and belching black smoke.

Its roar could be heard kilometres away.

Scientists say the eruption could last for up to three months.

The sound of the volcanic explosions can break glass in the surrounding area, Mr Morcuende said, urging people living within 5 kilometres to stay away from their windows.

Officials said the falling volcanic ash isn’t a threat to public health, but cleaning it up can be hazardous for people's lungs and eyes.

They urged people to wear a face mask, gloves and eye protection, as well as trousers and long-sleeve shirts, when removing ash.

Some 25,000 metric tons of sulfur dioxide are being emitted from the crater every day but don't pose a health threat, officials said.

Despite Spanish airport authority Aena tweeting that La Palma airport was operational again on Sunday, no aircraft were expected to land or take off.

Five airlines had already cancelled their day’s flights to La Palma because of the ash cloud.

Volcanic ash is hazardous for aircraft engines.

Long lines formed at the island’s port to catch ferries off the island.

Authorities allowed 160 evacuees to go back home, and permitted some other evacuated residents to collect belongings from their houses, as lava flows remained slow.

The lava is 2 kilometres from the coast, Mr Morcuende said.

Two rivers of lava are slithering down hillsides: one is further north, where molten rock from a new fissure is spreading over an area where lava spread and hardened last week, and another one south of it which is advancing at 30 metres per hour.

The temperature of the lava is around 1250 degrees Celsius.

Pope Francis said on Sunday that he was praying for all those affected by the volcano, dedicating a prayer to them at the end of his weekly noon blessing in St Peter’s Square.

“I think especially of those who have been forced to leave their homes,” the pontiff said.

This month’s eruption is the first on La Palma since 1971.

New freedoms set to be given to unvaccinated people in NSW on December 1 are the final nail in the coffin of the federal National Plan, a health expert has warned.

Grattan Institute health economist and former health bureaucrat Stephen Duckett said he was "surprised" by the NSW decision to make public a plan to lift restrictions for unvaccinated people on December 1.

He called it a "very risky" venture that would leave unvaccinated people exposed to the dangers of the Delta virus and place a potential heavy burden on the health system.

EXPLAINER: NSW's three-stage roadmap to freedom

He said the national plan, already the source of division and discontent among the federation, was now in tatters.

"The national plan did not contemplate these sort of lifting of restrictions in advance of every other state and in this type of environment in NSW," Mr Duckett said.

He accused Premier Gladys Berejiklian of "tearing up the national plan and using it as confetti", and claimed the December 1 date for unvaccinated freedoms was a sign of pressure from "anti-lockdowners" inside the Berejiklian cabinet.

"To date (the NSW Government) have only been talking about opening up to the vaccinated population," he said, explaining why today's announcement had caught him unawares.

Ms Berejiklian this morning detailed a NSW roadmap out of lockdown when a vaccination target of 80 per cent was hit, which is expected to happen on October 25.

When the 80 per cent target is reached, fully vaccinated people will enjoy a return to many freedoms, although safety protocols will still be in effect.

But Mr Duckett cautioned that the 80 per cent milestone only covered those aged 16 and over, which actually left one-third of NSW residents unvaccinated.

"About half of that number are children," he said.

Unvaccinated people had a "very high chance" of getting infected with COVID-19, Mr Duckett said.

"If you're an unvaccinated person in NSW, you've got to weigh up how you think the health system is going to cope.

"You've got to think about the risks to you personally when the virus is going to be spreading more widely."

Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant today estimated NSW would eventually reach 92 per cent of residents aged 16 and over fully vaccinated.

Dr Chant hoped 12-15 year olds would get to "a similar level" and said she was not sensing "a lot of hesitancy in the community" at present.

Mr Duckett warned coronavirus was now beginning to divide communities across Australian towns and cities, with household income a key factor.

"Essentially what we are seeing is COVID is becoming a disease of poor people, their families and communities," he said.

Mr Duckett feared NSW Health could come under growing pressure in the final months of the year, when restrictions are lifted and school kids in Greater Sydney return to class in the first week of November.

Demand for the vaccine was still outstripping supply in NSW, he added, which was leaving some people unvaccinated through no fault of their own.

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Qantas and Jetstar are bringing forward the restarting of popular flight routes a month early after the New South Wales and Victorian governments revealed their roadmaps out of coronavirus lockdowns.

Flights between Victoria and NSW will now begin on November 5, earlier than the previous date of December 1. The change is based on Victoria's reopening plan.

However, as previously flagged, Qantas will temporarily reroute its flagship Perth-London service until at least April 2022 due to border restrictions with WA.

READ MORE: NSW reveals three-stage roadmap out of lockdown

International flights are on track to restart from December 18, when Australia is expected to have reached National Cabinet's "Phase C" vaccination threshold of 80 per cent.

The carriers have also delayed the restart of domestic flights between Western Australia and Victoria or New South Wales by two months to February 1, 2022, based on border assumptions.

Qantas is in talks with the Northern Territory Government and Darwin Airport to assess operating the direct London flight from Darwin during this time.

READ MORE: NSW's three-stage roadmap to freedom explained

https://omny.fm/shows/the-9news-lunch-podcast/sept-27-the-former-cheerleader-in-court-over-prote/embed?style=cover

Darwin has been used as a hub for its repatriation flights to various destinations across Europe, Asia and the Middle East over the past 12 months.

Qantas says discussions for what would be a daily Melbourne-Darwin-London service will focus on the logistics of domestic and international transit.

If this service can't operate through Darwin, it will instead fly Melbourne-Singapore-London until at least April 2022.

A decision on the exact routing is likely to be made within the next two weeks.

READ MORE: 'No-one has ever suggested that the border should be closed at Christmas'

Qantas CEO Alan Joyce welcomed the restart of flights due to the take up of the vaccine.

"We're now planning to ramp up flying between Melbourne and Sydney, which is usually the second busiest air route in the world, almost a month earlier than expected," Mr Joyce said.

"There are also a lot of regional destinations that will open up for the first time since June, which is great news for tourism as well as family and friends who can't wait to see each other again.

"Based on our discussions with Western Australia we know their borders won't be open to New South Wales and Victoria until early next year, so we've sadly had to cancel the flying we had planned on those routes in the lead-up to Christmas.

"We will maintain a minimum service for people with permits to travel, though, as we have throughout the pandemic.

"At this stage, WA doesn't intend to open to international travel until sometime next year, so we'll unfortunately have to temporarily move our Perth-London service until at least April 2022.

"Instead of operating from Melbourne to Perth and then on to London as it usually does, this flight will operate from Melbourne to London via either Darwin or Singapore, depending on conversations we're having with the NT in the coming weeks."

READ MORE: Victoria records 705 new coronavirus infections

Qantas says that should the state or federal roadmaps change, and flights are cancelled, customers may be eligible for a refund, credit voucher or to change the date of their travel.

Regional flights within NSW will also significantly increase from October 25, taking it to around 40 per cent of pre-COVID levels.

The news from Qantas comes as NSW Premier Gladys Berejilkian has unveiled a three-stage roadmap out of lockdown, with the state expected to reach the 80 per cent double-dose vaccination milestone before the end of October.

However, fully vaccinated NSW residents must now wait until that 80 per cent double-dose mark, rather than the previously touted 70 per cent milestone, to travel freely around the state.

READ MORE: Australians could soon test for COVID-19 at home as rapid antigen tests seek approval

A US town that disappeared more than 60 years ago has re-emerged in drought.

The town of Rockport, in Utah, was submerged in 1957 when the nearby Wanship Dam was built, creating the Rockport Reservoir.

However as the reservoir's waters have now retreated due to a prolonged drought gripping the west coast – rocky foundations have once again seen the light of day.

READ MORE: NSW unleashes roadmap to freedom

Drone pilot Devon Dewey has shared several photos of the previously drowned town, which he snapped on a recent flyby.

"It was really interesting to be standing at an overlook for the reservoir and to see faint traces of foundations of old homes and a road all below where the water would normally be," Mr Dewey told 9News.com.au.

"Using a drone to get a higher perspective helped to see where structures once stood so many decades ago."

It is estimated 27 families lived in the area in the 1950s when the reservoir was created.

They were forced to relocate once construction of the dam began.