La Palma before and after the lava eruption of the volcanoCabildo de la Palma / Cabildo de la Palma
The lava tongue of the Canarian volcano Cabeza de Vaca, turned into a steamroller up to 12 meters high that advances unstoppably at the speed of a slug, has already destroyed some 400 buildings, 40 more than two days before, according to the data published this Friday for Copernicus, the European Union Earth Observation Program. The Cabildo de La Palma has offered the overwhelming images of before and after the eruption. The comparison allows us to appreciate the true magnitude of the disaster.
The image before the eruption, provided by the multinational geographic information company Esri, was taken in 2020 by a satellite.
The current photograph, with the houses already washed away by lava, was captured this Thursday by a drone.
The wash already occupies more than 180 hectares, 14 more than just 11 hours before, according to the latest Copernicus data.
The European service estimates that the lava has already destroyed 14 kilometers of roads.
It is a catastrophe in slow motion.
The front of the tongue has traveled 463 meters in 17 hours.
Its speed barely exceeds 27 meters per hour.
Hundreds of neighbors have watched them lose everything inch by inch.
This Friday, in addition, the Government of the Canary Islands has warned of the "intensification of the explosive phenomenon", with an increase in solid materials thrown by the volcano.
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