The volcano kept the people on the island of La Palma in check for more than three months. Now he’s quiet again. But many people don’t trust peace at first.
La Palma – The volcano on the volcanic island of La Palma, which belongs to Spain, has calmed down. No more thundering explosions, no more lava or ash, only a cloud of smoke above the volcanic cone reminded of the more than three-month spectacular eruption on Thursday.
For the first time in a long time, the chirping of birds in the badly hit valley of Aridane is no longer overlaid by the thunder of the volcano, reported the state TV broadcaster RTVE.
But the people on the Atlantic island off the west coast of Africa remained skeptical despite the longed-for end of the nightmare. “The volcano is not to be trusted,” the broadcaster quoted some of the residents. There had been violent explosions on Monday and large amounts of gas and lava had been expelled. In the evening the unnamed volcano suddenly fell silent.
Only slight tremors in the depths
Even experts do not yet dare to speak of an end to the outbreak. Although everything indicates that the volcano is running out of breath, it could also wake up to full life at any time. At the moment there are only very few light earthquakes several kilometers deep, there are no more vibrations at all from the volcanic cone itself and the amount of sulfur dioxide emitted has also decreased significantly. However, the situation can only really stabilize if this situation lasts for seven to ten days.
Claudia Rodríguez from the volcanic institute of the Canaries, Involcan, urged patience. “In my opinion, we have to be very careful and not arouse false hopes. I think we have to wait ten days now to see if the values stay the same and then we will be able to confirm an end to the outbreak, “she told RTVE.
Since the eruption began on September 19, the lava, which is more than 1,000 degrees Celsius, has destroyed almost 2,900 houses and other structures. Almost 1200 hectares were covered with a meter-thick layer of lava. More than 7,000 residents had to be brought to safety, the damage is estimated at more than 900 million euros. dpa
