Linea Directa 200 LEFT COL CAR INSURANCE

PROPERTY SEARCH

DomusVi Ciudad de Murcia residential cross content 1200

Date Published: 24/03/2022

ARCHIVED - 100 days of quiet from La Palma volcano: thousands of residents still without homes

ARCHIVED ARTICLE

Although the eruptions have ceased, the Canary Island volcano is still emitting potentially harmful gasses

<span style='color:#780948'>ARCHIVED</span> - 100 days of quiet from La Palma volcano: thousands of residents still without homes

On December 13, the Cumbre Vieja volcano on the Canary Island of La Palma ceased to erupt, but the experts have warned that the mountain is still very much alive. Magma reaching a temperature of more than 1,000ºC continues to create small earthquakes, while the noxious gasses being released are hampering coastal residents from returning to their homes.

One hundred days after the main activity stopped, scientists are taking advantage of the quiet to deploy a monitoring network around the crater, at 1,120 metres above sea level, to determine if any new dangers are on the horizon. The eruption has also totally changed the landscape of the island, with cooling lava creating new outcrops on the western slope of La Palma whose future function needs to be carefully planned.

All of these measures, however, are proving far too slow for the more than 7,000 people who had to flee from their homes when Cumbre Vieja erupted, many of whom are still relying on the charity of family and friends and are “close to destitution,” according to Alberto Hernández, from the citizen support initiative.

From the minute the volcano stopped actively erupting, the Government of the Canary Islands set out to recover the western slope of the island, but the promised rental aid has still not materialised and the temporary housing arranged on La Palma is only sufficient for a fraction of the displaced population.

At the moment, 24.5 million euros has been allocated to the Extraordinary Employment and Training Plan which has led to the hiring of 865 workers, who currently “are focused on tasks related to cleaning up the ash.”

At the same time, an evaluation of the new land is being carried out to establish the risks associated with developing the area, and the Ministry of Transport is looking into building a new 5.5-kilometre-long road between Puerto Naos and Tazacorte, which would allow the isolated areas to be reconnected.

Un equipo de INVOLCAN comenzó hoy una campaña de medidas de emisión difusa de gases en el volcán de #CumbreVieja #LaPalma / A team from INVOLCAN began today a campaign of diffuse gas emission measurements in the #CumbreVieja volcano #LaPalma pic.twitter.com/96pg8G8dRj
— INVOLCAN (@involcan) March 7, 2022

Image: Involcan

Linea Directa Bottom Article M-Z CAR INSURANCE

Sign up for the Spanish News Today Editors Roundup Weekly Bulletin and get an email with all the week’s news straight to your inbox

Special offer: Subscribe now for 25% off (36.95 euros for 48 Bulletins)