Enlarge image
Volcanic eruption on La Palma: Lava meets water
Photo: LUISMI ORTIZ / AFP
On the Spanish Canary Island of La Palma, the authorities have ordered a curfew for around 3000 people because of the eruption of the Cumbre Vieja volcano, which has been going on for weeks.
The reason for this are possible harmful gases, the island's rescue services announced on Monday in the online service Twitter.
They arise because a tongue of lava meets seawater again.
The curfew affected residents of towns and coastal villages near the point where the lava from the Cumbre Vieja last hit the sea.
Videos showed a huge white gas cloud that was created when the lava flowed into the Atlantic.
For the first time, the authorities recommended residents of the capital, Santa Cruz, to wear FFP2 masks to protect against toxic gases such as dioxides and sulfur.
The authorities also advised against outdoor activities in some areas of the island.
Air traffic interrupted
The police also harassed a person who was posing naked on the coast for a photographer or painter, with the gas cloud in the background.
The Spanish medium Cadena Ser published the pictures of the action on Twitter.
Accordingly, the two violated the new requirements and were expelled.
The volcano erupted on September 19th for the first time in 50 years.
Huge amounts of lava flowed towards the sea and destroyed over 1000 hectares of land and around 2600 buildings.
The ongoing volcanic eruption again disrupted air traffic on the Canary Island on Monday.
The airline Binter canceled all flights to and from La Palma.
On Sunday, tourists on the island had to switch to ferries to the neighboring island of Tenerife due to disruptions in air traffic.
Besides the cultivation of bananas, tourism is one of the most important branches of the economy in La Palma.
The authorities estimated the temporary damage at almost 900 million euros.
During his visit on Friday and Saturday on La Palma, Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced new help for the economy and the infrastructure of the island.
slü / AFP
