Another lava flow is moving dangerously close to La Laguna. The outskirts of the village had already been buried under hot lava in October.
La Palma – A lava flow that was newly created last weekend on the Spanish volcanic island of La Palma has approached the village of La Laguna at 800 meters by Thursday.
Experts could not initially say whether it would reach the place and cause further destruction, as reported by the state TV broadcaster RTVE. The approximately 1200 residents of La Laguna had already been evacuated in mid-October. Only days later, the lava, which was up to 1,300 degrees Celsius, had buried the outer areas of the village under itself.
The new lava flow, which initially barely moved forward on Thursday, is fed by a smaller volcanic cone that had formed on the northeast flank of the volcano in the past few days. On the other hand, hardly any lava or smoke emerged from the main chimney.
Since the beginning of the volcanic eruption in the Cumbre Vieja in the south of the island on September 19, the lava has already buried 1,163 hectares and destroyed 2,790 buildings, according to the latest results of the European Earth observation system Copernicus. Around 7,000 people had to leave their homes weeks ago and are staying with relatives, in hotels or pensions. According to volcanologists, there is no end in sight to the eruption. dpa
