The volcanic eruption on La Palma causes "enormous destruction", said the Canary Islands Volcanological Institute.
Pictures and videos show the extent.
La Palma - ash, lava, smoke, again and again small to medium earthquakes.
Even three weeks after the volcanic eruption on La Palma, the residents of the Canary Island do not come to rest.
The lava, which is more than 1000 degrees hot, is constantly destroying new surfaces.
Pictures and videos illustrate the terrifying extent of the outbreak.
Volcanic eruption on La Palma: "Enormous destruction"
On Saturday (October 9th) the northern flank of the volcanic cone in the Cumbre Vieja mountain range collapsed. A new lava flow was forming. The 1000-degree hot mass affected areas that had previously been spared. The volcanological institute of the Canaries (Involcan) spoke of "enormous destruction". The volcano hurled 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 strongest quake had a magnitude of 4.1.
However, people are not in danger.
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 Spanish Defense Minister Margarita Robles flew to La Palma on Sunday (October 10th) to get an idea of the situation and to thank the forces of the military emergency aid unit.
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The volcanic eruption on La Palma causes "enormous destruction".
© Daniel Roca / dpa
Volcanic eruption on La Palma: More than 1200 buildings destroyed - around 6000 people evacuated
The damage caused by the volcanic eruption 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 1200 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 have had to leave their homes so far.
Many of them will never be able to return to their homes and towns.
The banana cultivation, which is immensely important for the island and from which around half of the approximately 85,000 inhabitants live directly or indirectly, is particularly hard hit.
The sector was already in crisis before the volcanic eruption.
There are also significant losses in tourism.
There is no hope of a quick improvement in the situation.
Even experts cannot precisely predict how long the volcano will remain active.
It could take weeks or months.
(ph / dpa)
List of rubric lists: © Daniel Roca