Experts are pushing back at a decades-old theory that a volcanic eruption on the island of La Palma in the Canary Islands could trigger a tsunami that would reach the East Coast of the United States, USA Today is reporting.

The theory has surfaced on social media after a volcano erupted on Sept. 19.

"The things I've read they are expecting it to erupt and a piece of land would slide into the ocean and it would cause a tsunami for the USA east coast!," said on a post on Facebook. "They have been predicting this for years."

A map of the eastern part of the United States accompanied the post with the words a "50 meter tsunami after Canary Island volcano eruption and landslide puts THIS under water." 

Included in the areas that would be purportedly impacted by the tsunami are Florida, New York, Washington, D.C., Boston, and parts of southern Texas and Louisiana.

Facebook has labeled the map and text: "False information. Checked by independent fact-checkers."

USA Today noted the theory has also been debunked by both American and Spanish officials, who say it is extremely unlikely to ever happen.

It has been around since 2001 when Steven Ward as professor from University of California, Santa Cruz and Simon Day a professor from University College in London, published a study about the possibility of a tsunami originating in the Canary Islands, according to the newspaper.

The U.S. Geological Survey said in a Twitter post on Sept. 19 that a tsunami threat remained local in the Canary Islands and added: "The ‘mega tsunami’ story for the whole Atlantic has been thoroughly debunked."

USA Today pointed out that the U.S. National Tsunami Warning Center posted on Facebook that the eruption posed no tsunami risks to the East Coast.

Meanwhile, Reuters reported that lava began flowing again from the Cumbre Vieja volcano after a brief lull on Monday.

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