Volcanic eruption on La Palma: New lava flow devastated the Canary Island

The volcanic eruption on La Palma never ends. After several days of stability, the volcano is explosive again and destroys the island.

Santa Cruz de La Palma – The volcano Cumbre Vieja has been spitting lava and ash on La Palma for over two months. Now, after several days of stability, it is explosive again. The surge in activity has been linked to an increase in the amount of lava that has invaded the Las Manchas cemetery on the coast. This was reported by the news portal Mallorca-Services on Friday (November 26th, 2021). The cone of the volcano collapsed again on the night of November 18, causing the lava lake to overflow.

The new lava flows are said to have destroyed a total of 11.60 new hectares on the Canary Island. This increases the total area devastated since the beginning of the outbreak to 1,100.44 hectares, which corresponds to 1.55% of the total area of La Palma. The maximum front of the lava tongues should already be 3,350 meters wide, according to the news portal.

Volcanic eruption on La Palma – technicians concerned about the course of the new lava flow

The volcanic eruption had already started on September 19th. Back then, it had erupted for the first time in 50 years. The Los Ángeles cemetery in the municipality of Los Llanos de Aridane was covered by lava flows for a total of 59 days. Mount Cogote had served as a dam, but the molten rock had flooded it.

The course of the new tongue made of igneous material is particularly worrying for the technicians, as it runs parallel to lava flow 10 – the southernmost – and leads in the direction of El Corazoncillo and Las Manchas de Abajo, according to the news portal Mallorca-Services. Not only are there a large number of houses there, the terrain is also very uneven, which allows the lava to move at greater speed.

Cumbre Vieja volcano: Thousands of hectares destroyed by volcanic eruption on La Palma

Miguel Ángel Morcuende, technical director of the Canary Islands Volcano Emergency Plan (Pevolca), however, pointed out that although the magma is very fluid, it becomes more viscous as it progresses as it meets solid material. This will slow down his progress. The eruption, which has been going on for two months now, has also resulted in the island’s land area being considerably enlarged by lava flowing into the sea. According to analyzes, the island has already grown by 43 hectares.

Since the September eruption, over 1,000 hectares of land and nearly 1,500 buildings have been destroyed by the lava flows. The Pevolca estimates that the acreage affected by the lava flows is 340.59 hectares. Of this, 211.19 hectares are said to be banana plantations, 60.02 hectares of vineyards and 26.4 hectares of avocado plantations. Add to this 90 hectares of farms and another 624 hectares (412 hectares of banana plantations, 128 hectares of vineyards and 84 hectares of avocado trees) covered in ash.

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Volcanic eruption on La Palma causes great financial damage and stops flights

A total of 1484 buildings are said to have been flooded by the lava flows, as the last update of the cadastral data confirms. Including houses for agriculture, industry, hotels and leisure facilities and public infrastructures. The houses for residential purposes are hardest hit – a total of 1195 are said to have been covered by lava. The damage to the island is said to already amount to around 700 million euros, according to the Tagesschau.

The volcanic eruption also paralyzed flights again at the beginning of the week. According to an airport spokesman, all 20 flights had to be canceled last Saturday (November 20, 2021), as the Tagesschau reported. According to the news agency Agence France-Press, air traffic had not yet been restored on Tuesday (November 23, 2021). Because of the suspicion that toxic gases could escape when the lava flows reach the sea, the authorities also imposed a curfew on Monday (November 22, 2021). This was lifted last Tuesday. According to Pevolka, the arrival of the lava flow in the sea water had no effect on people. (acg)

Rubriklistenbild: © Kike Rincón / dpa