"The most important thing is to be vigilant in case something can change and act quickly."
Stavros Meliditis, a researcher at the National Geographic Institute (IGN), was in charge of the alert network on the island when the eruption took place at Cumbre Vieja, he was the first to arrive when, days before the eruption, a striking seismic swarm began .
Today he is still very close to the volcano, monitoring with his team that all the records, which they do almost daily near the main cone, are within normal parameters.
Among the natural phenomena that volcanologists and scientists are recording in this volcanic phase are fumaroles or degassing points in the main part, a phenomenon that can last for months and that "is normal after an eruptive process."
Seismicity is another of the normal events that will last for years as the ground has to be readjusted after so many days of activity.
And the high temperatures that are recorded are not a concern either: "In a recently extinguished volcano, on the surface we have between 60 and 70 degrees and much higher temperatures in the depths, there the material is still latent," explains Meliditis.
For now, from the National Geographic Institute (IGN) there are no alarm signals: "The first task is that the volcanic surveillance network is working well and that it provides quality data and that is how it is".
The longest eruption in history on La Palma and the most destructive in the last century in Europe lasted 85 days and ended two months ago.
The lava flows devastated 1,219 hectares and 7,000 people were evacuated.
According to the cadastre count, 1,576 buildings fell due to the effects of the lava.
On the island, almost everyone has been affected by the volcano. Rare is the person not directly affected or who has a family member or friend who has lost their home or business.
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