Status: 10.10.2021 4:17 p.m.
Three weeks after the volcanic eruption on La Palma, a new lava flow has formed and other buildings have been destroyed. Areas previously spared are also affected. Again there were minor tremors.
After the volcanic eruption on La Palma, the residents of the Canary Island do not come to rest. A new lava flow that formed on Saturday caused further damage today. Huge blocks of liquid lava flowed down a hill. According to the Spanish Institute for Geology and Mining, the magma was as high as a three-story building.
According to the Institute for Volcanology of the Canaries, the lava flow had a temperature of up to 1240 degrees Celsius. In the village of Todoque, the last remaining buildings were destroyed. The institute spoke of “enormous destruction”. But people are not in danger.
The Spanish Defense Minister Margarita Robles flew to the Atlantic island to get an idea of the situation and to thank the emergency services of the military. Experts estimate that the volcano will remain active for a long time.
Small quakes again and again
On Saturday, the northern flank of the volcanic cone in the Cumbre Vieja mountain range collapsed. The hot mass emerged and affected areas that had previously been spared. Since the affected region had already been evacuated, no one had to be brought to safety, reported the state television broadcaster RTVE, citing the authorities.
The volcano threw an ash cloud up to a height of 3.5 kilometers. Small to medium-sized earthquakes also repeatedly shake the south of the island, the most violent quake having a strength of 4.1. Authorities registered 21 minor tremors up to a magnitude of 3.8 today alone. The earth trembled in the villages of Mazo, Fuencaliente and El Paso, among others.
More than 1200 buildings destroyed
The damage caused by the volcanic eruption on the small island is meanwhile increasing. Since the volcano in the south of La Palma became active again on September 19 for the first time in 50 years, the lava has already destroyed more than 1200 buildings. Almost 500 hectares were already covered by a meter-thick layer of lava on Sunday.
Around 6,000 people who had to leave their homes were still housed in hotels or with relatives. Many of them will never be able to return to their homes and towns. The banana cultivation, which is immensely important for the island and from which around half of the approximately 85,000 inhabitants live directly or indirectly and which was already in crisis before the volcanic eruption, is particularly hard hit. The tourism sector is also lamenting losses.