Three weeks after the eruption of the volcano 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 over the weekend. The volcanological institute of the Canaries (Involcan) spoke of “enormous destruction”. But people are not in danger. On Sunday alone, 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. Authorities registered 21 minor tremors up to a magnitude of 3.8 during the day. The earth trembled in the villages of Mazo, Fuencaliente and El Paso, among others.
In addition, the Spanish Defense Minister Margarita Robles flew to the Atlantic island off the west coast of Africa today 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.
On Saturday, the northern flank of the volcanic cone in the Cumbre Vieja mountain range collapsed. The mass, which was a good 1,000 degrees Celsius, escaped 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.
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 1,200 buildings. Almost 500 hectares were already covered by a meter-thick layer of lava on Sunday. This area corresponds to about 700 soccer fields. 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, 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.
An animal welfare organization has meanwhile renewed its call for help for a cat that is apparently trapped in an empty water basin surrounded by lava. The Cadena Ser radio station reported on Friday, citing the organization Leales, that the cat could be seen running around in the pool on video recordings from a drone. One continues to wait for the cat to be supplied with food from the air with the help of a drone, if possible, until the volcano has calmed down again, Leales wrote on Twitter. It was initially unclear whether this would be possible.