The inhabitants of several districts of a municipality on the Spanish island of La Palma were confined on Monday, September 27 because of fears of the emanation of toxic gases that could cause the arrival in the sea of lava expelled by the Cumbre volcano Vieja, which erupted eight days ago.
Read alsoEvacuations, toxic cloud ... Where is the volcanic eruption in the Canaries?
The authorities "
ordered the confinement (of the districts) of San Borondon, Marina Alta, Marina Baja and La Condesa
" to Tazacorte, "
the lava being likely to reach the sea in the coming hours
" at the level of this municipality and of cause the emanation of "
gases harmful to health,
" said on Twitter the emergency services of the Canaries, the archipelago of which La Palma is part.
"
The population will have to follow the instructions of the authorities and stay at home, doors and windows closed, until the situation is assessed,
" they continued.
Flights remain suspended
The meeting between the lava and the sea, initially planned at the beginning of last week and delayed due to the slowing of the flows, is feared because of the emission of toxic gases that it could cause on this island of 85,000 inhabitants.
On Sunday evening, the lava was 1.6 km from the coast and was advancing at a speed of about 100 m / hour, according to the authorities.
The activity of the volcano has increased in intensity in recent days and caused the opening of new eruptive vents and the crumbling of part of the cone.
Read also Eruption in the Canaries: Palma airport at a standstill
As for air traffic, it remained suspended with eight flights canceled (departures and arrivals) on Monday morning, according to the site of the company managing Spanish airports (Aena), although La Palma airport reopened on Sunday after being briefly put stopped on Saturday due to the accumulation of ash.
“
Flights remain suspended to and from La Palma until 1:00 pm Monday September 27th.
We are assessing the situation in order to be able to resume (traffic) safely,
”the Canary Islands-based airline company Binter said on Twitter.
This eruption has not made any casualties at this stage, but caused enormous damage and led to the evacuation of more than 6,000 people, some of whom saw their homes completely engulfed.
Nearly 500 buildings were destroyed by the lava that covers more than 212 hectares, including many banana plantations, according to data from the European geospatial measurement system Copernicus.
The two previous eruptions in La Palma took place in 1971 and 1949. They killed a total of three, two of them by gas inhalation.