The Limited Times

Now you can see non-English news...

Hobby astronomer Enrico Enzmann loses his house in the volcanic eruption on La Palma

2021-11-21T15:40:06.717Z


Hobby astronomer Enrico Enzmann owned a small finca on La Palma in order to be able to watch the stars. Then the earth shook and buried everything under itself.


Hobby astronomer Enrico Enzmann owned a small finca on La Palma in order to be able to watch the stars.

Then the earth shook and buried everything under itself.

Königsdorf / La Manchas -

Enrico Enzmann lies alone in the bedroom of his holiday home in the municipality of La Manchas.

It's September 13th, five in the morning.

Only an hour earlier, the 59-year-old had gone to bed after many hours of observing the sky.

Suddenly the house trembles, Enzmann is wide awake in one fell swoop.

“No matter how deep you sleep, the adrenaline rushes in when there is an earthquake.

That has to be a basic instinct, ”he says.

Volcanic eruption on La Palma: Enrico Enzmann loses his house and his telescope

The earth shook several times in the following days.

The Königsdorfer actually wants to stay on La Palma until September 22nd, the day before his Silke's birthday.

However, the astronomical weather is not what stargazers would like it to be.

So he rebooked spontaneously and got a return flight for September 15th.

Because time is very short, he lets everything stand and lie.

Astronomical equipment - no longer available filters and some cameras -, with which he usually commutes between his observatories in his Bavarian homeland and on the Canary Island, is left behind.

Four days later, the roughly 900 meter high volcano erupted about 2.4 kilometers from the house.

+

Enrico Enzmann, amateur astronomer from Königsdorf.

© Enzmann

A battle of nerves breaks out. The Enzmanns, after 16 years on La Palma, well socialized there, keep constant contact with neighbors and friends. They tell them that a lava flow is rolling towards their house. Drone recordings document this spectacle. They fear for four days. “We hoped that the lava above our house would stop or maybe split,” says Enrico Enzmann. Somewhere he reads that the chance of being killed in a plane crash is much greater than losing your house in a volcanic eruption. The spewing crater doesn't care about probability calculations: On September 24th, a meter-thick, glowing rock slush devours the white 120-square-meter finca. The lazy flow only stops at the property line,a few palm trees let the merciless force of nature stand.

The Enzmanns sit paralyzed at home in Königsdorf.

“We cried like castle dogs at times,” says Enrico Enzmann.

The material damage is enormous: the house, garden and observatory are buried under a layer of lava that is so thick that it takes several years to cool down.

Just a few weeks earlier, Enrico Enzmann had two new telescopes installed.

“Consorico” clause comes into force

Whether and how much the insurance company pays is - what a joke - in the stars. In the Canary Islands, even elementary insurance - unlike most locals - the Enzmanns do not have volcanic eruptions. At least that is the first statement made by your broker. It gets exciting after the tip you received from the wife of your IT specialist. Spanish insurance law contains a so-called “consorcio” clause. It comes into force when the government declares a disaster.

She does that on September 21st - which, according to Enrico Enzmann, "is already good for us".

The new neighbors are less fortunate: their house has enclosed the lava in a U-shape and is no longer accessible.

Since it is not broken, the Consorcio clause does not apply here.

Crazy: A few months ago the Enzmanns were about to buy this house for their children in order to expand the family home a little.

In the end it was too expensive for them.

+

The small finca of the Enzmann family on La Palma has disappeared from the ground.

The neighbors' house seen in the photo is more habitable.

Above right: An extinct volcanic cone.

© Private

"Every notch in the dining table has told a story"

Material loss is one thing, emotional pain is another. The family has put a lot of passion and work into the house they bought in 2005. "Every notch in the dining table has a story to tell," says Silke Enzmann, and her eyes shimmer moist. They all have become at home there - "and my daughters are healthy". Both would have suffered from respiratory problems in early childhood. “Before chronic asthma develops, the doctor advised us to go to the sea with you as often as possible.” This and her husband's passion for astronomy would ultimately have tipped the balance to settle on La Palma.

Nevertheless, the Enzmanns know that they are fine. You are healthy and have a roof over your head. Many others - including friends and acquaintances - no longer have it. La Palma has around 80,000 inhabitants and 2,600 houses have been destroyed, says Silke Enzmann. “If you assume that an average Canarian family of four to five people lives in one house, 10,000 people have lost their homes. That's about an eighth of the population. "Her husband adds:" We know a building contractor who has lost his house, his small company with equipment and vehicles and four small holiday homes that he rented out - so his entire existence. "He too The gardener, who took care of the property in her absence, no longer has a job. "All of his customers' houses are gone," says the 59-year-old, "he doesn't knowwhether he can continue to have his two sons study in Tenerife. ”And no one knows what the long-term effects the population is exposed to from poisonous gases and the air that is breathed with sharp-edged ash particles.

+

Sensational photo: Enrico Enzmann shot this picture of Jupiter shortly before the disaster on La Palma.

It's like a legacy to him.

© Enzmann

How can you help those affected?

The island only lives on two things: bananas and tourism, says Enrico Enzmann.

Many plantations have been destroyed.

“It would be best if the vacationers would continue to come to La Palma.” They would also like to stay on the island and build a new house there - albeit in the less volcanically active north.

But it is not easy to find affordable and suitable building land there.

The 59-year-old knows, "and now that many people need new living space, it will certainly be even more difficult" because of the corona pandemic.

Also read: Thunderstorm super cell discharges over Königsdorf

Enrico Enzmann pulls a photo out of a folder.

It was created just a few days before the catastrophe in his now buried observatory and shows Jupiter.

Even professional astronomers rate it as one of the best pictures of the planet that has ever been taken from Earth.

“It's like a legacy,” he says thoughtfully.

Wolfratshausen-Geretsried-Newsletter:

Everything from your region!

Our Wolfratshausen-Geretsried newsletter informs you regularly about all the important stories from the region - including all the news about the corona crisis in your community.

Sign up here.

Source: merkur

All news articles on 2021-11-21

You may like

Trends 24h

News/Politics 2024-03-28T06:04:53.137Z

Latest

© Communities 2019 - Privacy

The information on this site is from external sources that are not under our control.
The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.