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The La Palma volcano swallows a hundred houses, destroys crops and advances at 700 meters per hour

2021-09-20T12:46:10.114Z


The lava forces the evacuation of about 5,000 people in towns close to the eruption The La Palma volcano, the first to erupt in Spain since Teneguía (also on La Palma) in 1971, kept the Canary Island in suspense one day after it began to spew fire and ash. So far, it has emitted between 6,000 and 9,000 tons of sulfur dioxide, and expels a front of lava of an average height of six meters, like a two-story building, that advances at 700 meters per hour and already devastates houses


The La Palma volcano, the first to erupt in Spain since Teneguía (also on La Palma) in 1971, kept the Canary Island in suspense one day after it began to spew fire and ash.

So far, it has emitted between 6,000 and 9,000 tons of sulfur dioxide, and expels a front of lava of an average height of six meters, like a two-story building, that advances at 700 meters per hour and already devastates houses in its path. , crops and infrastructure in towns such as Tacande or El Paraíso (municipality of El Paso).

More information

  • The keys to the Cumbre Vieja volcano: Why has this eruption occurred on La Palma?

    How long can it last?

  • "The eruption on La Palma has enough material, intensity and magma to last for weeks"

So far, the eruption of the volcano in the El Paso municipality of La Palma has not caused personal casualties, but has forced about 5,000 people to evacuate from their homes.

It is leaving a "desolate" situation in the area, as explained by the president of the Cabildo, Mariano Hernández Zapata, since the lava "literally eats houses, infrastructure and crops that it finds on its way to the coast of the Aridane valley."

"All of Spain is with La Palma", the Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, assured this Monday in a joint appearance with the Interior Minister, Fernando Grande-Marlaska; and his Canarian counterpart Ángel Víctor Torres at the headquarters of the Cabildo de Gran Canaria. “This eruption is not going to cause people to be left behind, to be damaged from an economic point of view, regardless of the fact that there are irreparable issues, such as the loss of homes with all the emotional burden, not just material, that this implies ”, added Sánchez. He has remarked that "all the resources of the State" are available to the citizens of La Palma. Ángel Víctor Torres, for his part, explained that the lava tongue is likely to reach the sea during the day this Monday.

One of them is that of Alberto, a man in his forties, a neighbor of El Paraíso, who watches the natural spectacle sitting on the side of the LP3 highway, in the town of Tajuya.

He's been up all night.

“Yesterday I had the doubt, but first thing in the morning they confirmed that the lava has swallowed my house.

"This is a disgrace," he explains in a broken voice.

Gerhard Beck and his wife leave the military barracks where they have spent the night on a mat after a night of continuous transfers.

"We do not know what happened to our house, but we fear the worst," laments the man.

"Now we are going to a hotel for two days, they have treated us well, but we have been afraid, very afraid."

They are two of the 5,000 evacuees. They spent the night, like three hundred other people, in the El Fuerte barracks, on the outskirts of the capital, Santa Cruz de La Palma. The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, together with the President of the Canary Islands, Ángel Víctor Torres, visited the facilities on Monday morning and were informed there of the operation's progress. Both will offer a public appearance this afternoon. Torres has indicated this Monday in statements to the media that the erupting volcano in the municipality of El Paso, on the island of La Palma, has emitted more than 20,000 tons of sulfur dioxide, although the fact that there is no wind makes that the island's airport activity is maintained.

On Monday, King Felipe VI expressed his "encouragement" to the inhabitants of the Canary Island of La Palma in the face of the eruption of the Cumbre Vieja volcano, also known as Cabeza de Vaca, ensuring that he is following the evolution of events with care and concern. It is in constant contact with the Government and the island authorities.

"By the hair"

The lava, in its slow advance, has engulfed a hundred homes, according to Cabildo sources.

And he has avoided others, as Carlos Rodríguez, an electrical engineer at Endesa, recounts: “My mother-in-law's farm escaped.

The lava solidified two or three meters from the wall and we have saved everything by the hair.

I don't understand how we escaped ”.

Carlos Rodríguez, a resident of El Paraíso, with the lava a few meters from the family home Carlos Rodríguez

The traffic on the roads of the peaceful beautiful island is incessant. The National Police has deployed 92 agents, including 47 members of the Santa Cruz de La Palma Local Police Station and 45 members of the 10th Unit of the IPU, who have traveled to the island. Four helicopters constantly fly over the area. In addition, 200 Civil Guard agents participate, including citizen security, SEPRONA, Traffic, Mountain Unit, Cynological Service, Rural Security Group, GEAS, Maritime service patrol, Judicial Police and group of helicopters. The Military Emergency Unit (UME), for its part, has 67 members and 30 vehicles deployed in La Palma, a contingent that will increase throughout Monday to reach 180 troops and 57 vehicles.

Rivers of lava and pyroclasts in the Cabeza de Vaca area, this Sunday, in El Paso, La Palma.Europa Press / Europa Press

The seven eruptions that La Palma had experienced in historical times until this Sunday (since the conquest of the archipelago in the 15th century) were all concentrated around the Cumbre Vieja and their duration ranged from one to three months.

The longest eruption of all that have been documented to date on the

pretty island

is that of Tehuya, which occurred in 1586, which lasted 84 days: from May 19 to August 10.

The shortest, on the other hand, was the one that until yesterday was the last on the island, Teneguía, in 1971, which lasted 24 days.

That of this Sunday still keeps the island in suspense with the advance of its lava tongue. "We were in the street at the bus stop, and suddenly we heard the volcano explode," recall Xiomara and Alexandra, aged 15 and 16, who have spent the night in the military barracks of El Fuerte. "My father called me," explains Alexandra, "we took the chihuahua and a parrot and went to the Los Llanos soccer field." Then they went to a shelter in neighboring El Paso, to end up in the barracks. "Our houses have been saved, but two of our friends have lost theirs in Tacande," they lament. "We are very afraid for them."

Source: elparis

All life articles on 2021-09-20

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