85,000 residents had to leave their homes, around 1,500 buildings have been destroyed so far, the damage amounts to 900 million euros – and the volcano continues to spew out lava. No end in sight.
Madrid – For nine weeks the volcano on the Canary Island of La Palma has been spitting out lava, ash and smoke. An end to the most devastating outbreak in the history of the Atlantic island off the west coast of Africa is still not in sight.
At the weekend, the wind drove the ashes north-east, so that the island’s airport ceased operations again, as reported by the state TV broadcaster RTVE. On Sunday, too, the island could only be reached by ship.
Since the beginning of the eruption on September 19, 1050 hectares have been buried by lava, which lies like a dark gray crust on the landscape. At the point where it flows into the sea, a new headland, which is more than 40 hectares in size, has formed.
The destruction is enormous. 7,000 of the 85,000 islanders had to leave their homes, around 1,500 buildings were destroyed, roads, fields and banana plantations as well as greenhouses were buried by the lava. The government of the Canary Islands estimates the damage to date at more than 900 million euros, as the newspaper “El País” reported.
The activity of the volcano, which has not yet been named, has steadily decreased in the past few weeks. According to experts, an end to the explosive activity is not in sight, at least in the short term. dpa
