Status: 02.10.2021 4:16 p.m.
The volcano on La Palma gives no rest: Lava continues to flow into the Atlantic. The resulting gases now endanger two other localities. The residents are no longer allowed to leave their homes.
The volcanic eruption on the Canary Island of La Palma results in curfews for other residents: Because of potentially harmful gases, the citizens of the two places Los Llanos de Aridane and El Paso are no longer allowed to leave their homes. About 3500 people are affected. Previously, four locations had already been placed under a corresponding lockdown.
The expansion was “a consequence of the meteorological conditions,” said the disaster service. The weather conditions prevented the gases from evaporating. Instead, emissions would be kept in the lower parts of the atmosphere. In the affected areas of the island, people are asked to keep windows and doors closed and to turn off air conditioning.
The Federal Foreign Office advises against traveling
The Foreign Office in Berlin called for unnecessary trips to La Palma to be avoided. “It cannot be ruled out that there will be evacuations of other areas or – possibly only temporary – closings of the airport on La Palma,” says the note.
Wind decisive
On Friday, a new vent opened on the volcano, from which lava flowed. The volcano expert Miguel Angel Morcuende spoke of “intense activities”. As the President of the Canarian Regional Government, Ángel Víctor Torres, said, 80 million cubic meters of lava have been released since the beginning of the eruption on September 19th.
On Wednesday night, lava flowed into the sea for the first time. She has formed a more than 20 hectare headland there, which is still growing. This creates large amounts of smoke and toxic gases, which the wind initially carried towards the sea.
But since Thursday experts have observed a deterioration in air quality in the nearby residential areas. In Tazacorte, for example, sulfur dioxide levels rose, according to the National Institute of Toxicology. In Santa Cruz de La Palma the density of the ash particles increased. Experts warned, “Inhaling or coming into contact with corrosive gases or liquids can irritate the skin, eyes and airways and cause breathing difficulties, especially in people with pre-existing respiratory diseases.”
Relatively few islanders affected
So far, around 6,000 people have been brought to safety from the endangered areas around the volcano, and around 800 buildings have been destroyed. However, relatively few of the island’s 83,000 people were restricted in their lives by the outbreak, said Morcuende. “Less than eight percent of the island is affected by the volcano.”
The last outbreaks were recorded in 1971 and 1949. A total of three people were killed – two of them died from toxic gases.