When does it stop again? At the moment there is no end in sight. The volcano on La Palma continues to spit lava masses from the interior of the earth.
La Palma – The volcano on the Spanish Canary Island of La Palma has been spitting ash, smoke and lava for exactly a month – and there is no end in sight.
Since the gases escaping from the volcano are currently not being drawn off sufficiently due to the weather, the authorities called on around 7,000 residents of El Paso not to leave their homes, as the newspaper “La Vanguardia” reported on Tuesday.
At the same time, a second, more northerly lava flow is about to reach the sea, as the state TV broadcaster RTVE reported. He is only 30 meters away from the cliff. Almost three weeks ago the main stream reached the Atlantic a little further south on its way through the Aridane valley and has since formed a new headland in the sea that is already 36 hectares in size. As in the past, the authorities warned that if the lava, which is around 1000 degrees Celsius, came into contact with the salty sea water, toxic fumes could form.
Since the volcano, which still has no official name, became active again in September for the first time in 50 years, almost 2,000 buildings have been destroyed and around 800 hectares affected. That corresponds to around 1120 soccer fields. Around 7,000 people have had to leave their homes as a precaution since September 19 and stay with relatives in other parts of the island or in hotels. According to official information, the damage amounts to at least 400 million euros. The banana plantations in the particularly fertile valley of Aridane have suffered particularly badly.
Flight operations were resumed on Monday after a two-day interruption. However, there were many delays on Tuesday due to the difficult conditions. The ashes from the volcano in particular are dangerous for aircraft engines. dpa
