Thousands flee as volcano erupts on Spain's La Palma island, homes destroyed

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Red-hot lava spews from volcano on La Palma in Spain's Canary Islands
Author of the article:Reuters
Reuters
Borja Suarez
Publishing date:Sep 19, 2021 • 2 hours ago • 2 minute read • Join the conversation
Lava and smoke are seen following the eruption of a volcano in the Cumbre Vieja national park at El Paso, on the Canary Island of La Palma, September 19, 2021.
Lava and smoke are seen following the eruption of a volcano in the Cumbre Vieja national park at El Paso, on the Canary Island of La Palma, September 19, 2021. PHOTO BY BORJA SUAREZ /REUTERS
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LA PALMA — A volcano erupted on the Spanish Canary Island of La Palma on Sunday, sending lava shooting into the air and streaming in rivers towards houses in two villages from the Cumbre Vieja national park in the south of the island.

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Authorities had begun evacuating the infirm and some farm animals from nearby villages before the eruption at 3:15 p.m. (1415 GMT) on a wooded slope in the sparsely populated Cabeza de Vaca area, according to the islands’ government.


Two hours later, with lava edging down the hillside from five fissures torn into the hillside, the municipality ordered the evacuation of four villages, including El Paso and Los Llanos de Aridane.

After nightfall, video footage showed fountains of lava shooting hundreds of meters into the sky, and at least three incandescent orange rivers of molten rock pouring down the hill, tearing gashes into woods and farmland, and spreading as they reached lower ground.

One stream, several hundred meters long and tens of meters wide, crossed a road and began engulfing scattered houses in El Paso. Video footage shared on social media, which Reuters has been unable to verify, showed the lava entering a house.

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“When the volcano erupted today, I was scared. For journalists it is something spectacular, for us it is a tragedy. I think the lava has reached some relatives’ houses,” local resident Isabel Fuentes, 55, told Spanish television TVE.

“I was 5 years old when the volcano last erupted (in 1971). You never get over a volcanic eruption,” added Fuentes, who said she had moved to another house on Sunday for her safety.


‘STAY IN YOUR HOUSES’

Canary Islands President Angel Victor Torres told a press conference on Sunday night that 5,000 people had been evacuated and no injuries had been reported so far.

“It is not foreseeable that anyone else will have to be evacuated. The lava is moving towards the coast and the damage will be material. According to experts there are about 17-20 million cubic meters of lava,” he said.

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Flights to and from the Canaries were continuing as normal, the airport operator Aena said.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez arrived in La Palma, the most northwesterly island of the archipelago, late on Sunday for talks with the islands’ government on managing the eruption.

“We have all the resources (to deal with the eruption) and all the troops, the citizens can rest easy,” he said.

Stavros Meletlidis, a doctor of volcanology at the Spanish Geographical Institute, said the eruption had torn five holes in the hillside and that he could not be sure how long it would last.

“We have to measure the lava every day and that will help us to work it out.”

King Felipe spoke with Torres and was following the developments, the royal household said.

La Palma had been on high alert after more than 22,000 tremors were reported in the space of a week in Cumbre Vieja, a chain of volcanoes that last had a major eruption in 1971 and is one of the most active volcanic regions in the Canaries.

In 1971, one man was killed as he was taking photographs near the lava flows, but no property was damaged.

The earliest recorded eruption in La Palma was in 1430, according to the Spanish National Geographical Institute (ING).
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Thousands flee as volcano erupts on Spain's La Palma island
The lava flow has destroyed about 100 houses so far

Author of the article:Reuters
Reuters
Borja Suarez
Publishing date:Sep 20, 2021 • 7 hours ago • 3 minute read • Join the conversation
Lava pours out of a volcano in the Cumbre Vieja national park at El Paso, on the Canary Island of La Palma, September 19, 2021, in this screen grab taken from a video. FORTA/Handout via REUTERS
Lava pours out of a volcano in the Cumbre Vieja national park at El Paso, on the Canary Island of La Palma, September 19, 2021, in this screen grab taken from a video. FORTA/Handout via REUTERS
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LA PALMA — Lava flowing from Spain’s Canary Islands’ first volcanic eruption in 50 years has forced the evacuation of 5,500 people and destroyed around 100 houses but the streams were advancing slower than originally predicted, authorities said on Monday.

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The flow of molten rock will not reach the Atlantic Ocean on Monday evening as earlier estimated, an official said. Experts say that if and when it does, it could trigger more explosions and clouds of toxic gases.


“The movement of lava is much slower than it was initially … There has not been a large advance during the day,” local emergency coordinator Miguel Angel Morcuende told a press briefing on Monday evening. He said the stream had made its way about halfway to the coast.

A new stream of lava erupted from the volcano late on Monday, prompting the evacuation of residents in the town of El Paso, the regional emergency agency wrote on Twitter.

The volcano first erupted on Sunday, shooting lava hundreds of metres into the air, engulfing forests and sending molten rock towards the ocean over a sparsely populated area of La Palma, the northwesternmost island in the Canaries archipelago.

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A house burns due to lava from the eruption of a volcano in the Cumbre Vieja national park at Los Llanos de Aridane, on the Canary Island of La Palma, September 20, 2021. REUTERS/Borja Suarez
A house burns due to lava from the eruption of a volcano in the Cumbre Vieja national park at Los Llanos de Aridane, on the Canary Island of La Palma, September 20, 2021. REUTERS/Borja Suarez
No fatalities or injuries have been reported but drone footage captured two tongues of black lava cutting a devastating swathe through the landscape as they advanced down the volcano’s western flank towards the sea.

A Reuters witness saw the flow of molten rock slowly tear its way through a house in the village of Los Campitos, igniting the interior and sending flames through the windows and onto the roof.

Around 100 homes have been affected by the volcano’s eruption, said regional emergency official Jorge Parra, adding that residents should not fear for their safety if they follow authorities’ recommendations.

Six roads on the island were closed, officials said.

Regional leader Angel Victor Torres said the damage would be substantial. “It is still active and will continue to be active for the next few days,” he added.

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“It was horrible,” said Eva, a 53-year old tourist from Austria. “We felt the earthquake, it started in the morning … Then at three in the afternoon the lady from our house came and said you have to pack everything and leave quickly.”

“We’re happy to go home now,” she said at the airport, boarding a flight back home after cutting her trip short.


Tourism Minister Reyes Maroto said the eruption was “a wonderful show” which would attract more tourists to the tourism-dependent archipelago – comments that were criticized by the opposition at a time when many residents have lost their homes.

Some of the tourists at the airport disagreed with Maroto. “We want to leave as fast as possible,” said Wienard, a 55-year- old social worker from Salzburg.

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But at least one visitor was happy.

“I felt like a little child inside, very excited,” said Kabirly, 26, a market researcher from Belgium. “It was also my birthday yesterday so it was sort of a candle on the island cake!”

About 360 tourists were evacuated from a resort in La Palma following the eruption and taken to the nearby island of Tenerife by boat early on Monday, a spokesperson for ferry operator Fred Olsen said. A total of more than 500 tourists had to leave their hotels.

Anticipating reduced visibility, maritime authorities on Monday closed down shipping to the west of the island.

La Palma had been on high alert after thousands of tremors were reported over a week in Cumbre Vieja, which belongs to a chain of volcanoes that last had a major eruption in 1971 and is one of the Canaries’ most active volcanic regions.

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez visited some affected areas and met officials on Monday, and later took to Twitter to praise the emergency personnel’s response.

Airspace around the Canaries has remained open with no visibility problems, the Enaire civil air authority said after a local airline canceled four flights between islands.
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spaminator

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Families given one hour to evacuate as lava from La Palma volcano nears sea
Author of the article:Reuters
Reuters
Borja Suarez and Marco Trujillo
Publishing date:Sep 21, 2021 • 20 hours ago • 2 minute read • Join the conversation
Residents evacuate a home following the eruption of a volcano on the Canary Island of La Palma, in La Laguna, Spain, September 21, 2021.
Residents evacuate a home following the eruption of a volcano on the Canary Island of La Palma, in La Laguna, Spain, September 21, 2021. PHOTO BY BORJA SUAREZ /REUTERS
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LOS LLANOS DE ARIDANE — Families rushed to retrieve belongings from their homes and escape the advancing lava on Tuesday, as sirens sounded and helicopters flew overhead in air filled with smoke from an erupting volcano on the Spanish island of La Palma.

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One family of three in the town of Los Llanos de Aridane, threatened by the lava running to the coast, hurried to load a Toyota van with mattresses, a fridge, washing machine and bags stuffed with clothes.


Residents in Los Llanos de Aridane were given one hour to pack up and flee, a scene played out over La Palma in the Canary Islands since the volcano erupted on Sunday, forcing 6,000 people to evacuate. At least 166 houses have been destroyed so far.

Regional leader Angel Victor Torres said emergency services were powerless to stop the lava’s “inexorable” advance to the sea and that more homes, churches and agricultural land would be consumed.

While the total damage remains hard to predict, he said it would far exceed the 400 million euro threshold needed to qualify for European Union aid.

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Authorities have warned that as it hits the sea, the lava could create a cloud of toxic gases and possibly explosions as the molten rock cools rapidly.


Marine authorities were keeping a two-nautical-mile zone offshore closed as a precaution “to prevent onlookers on boats and prevent the gases from affecting people,” the island council’s chief Mariano Hernandez told Cadena SER radio station.

He urged people to stay away. A road collapse partly hampered the evacuation on Monday.

The lava flow was initially expected to reach the shore on Monday, but it is now moving more slowly. More people had to be evacuated late on Monday and early on Tuesday after a new stream of lava started flowing from another crack on the slope of the Cumbre Viejo volcano.

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“The lava on its path to the sea has been a bit capricious and has diverted from its course,” El Paso’s mayor Sergio Rodriguez told state broadcaster TVE.

The volcano started erupting on Sunday, shooting lava hundreds of meters into the air after La Palma, the most northwestern island in the Canaries archipelago, had been rocked by thousands of quakes in the prior days.

No fatalities or injuries have been reported, but drone footage captured two tongues of black lava cutting a devastating swathe through the landscape as they advanced down the volcano’s western flank towards the ocean.


A Reuters witness saw the flow of molten rock slowly engulf a house in the village of Los Campitos, igniting the interior and sending flames through the windows and onto the roof.

As of Tuesday morning, the lava had covered 103 hectares and destroyed 166 houses, according to data released by the European Union’s Copernicus Emergency Management service.

Emergency authorities have said residents should not fear for their safety if they follow recommendations.
 

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'ALL WE CAN DO IS CRY': La Palma volcano leaves trail of devastation
Author of the article:Reuters
Reuters
Publishing date:Sep 22, 2021 • 18 hours ago • 2 minute read • Join the conversation
The volcano that went on erupting on Sept. 19 in Cumbre Vieja mountain range, spewes gas, ash and lava over the Aridane valley as seen from Los Llanos de Aridane on the Canary Island of La Palma, on Sept. 22, 2021.
The volcano that went on erupting on Sept. 19 in Cumbre Vieja mountain range, spewes gas, ash and lava over the Aridane valley as seen from Los Llanos de Aridane on the Canary Island of La Palma, on Sept. 22, 2021. PHOTO BY DESIREE MARTIN /AFP via Getty Images
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LA PALMA — Lava flowed from an erupting volcano on the Spanish island of La Palma for a fourth day on Wednesday, forcing more people to evacuate their homes and blanketing towns in ash, while residents struggled to come to terms with the destruction.

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“All we can do is cry. We are a small business, we live off all these people who have lost everything,” said Lorena, 30, who works in a jewelers in the small town of Los Llanos de Aridane.


Since erupting on Sunday, lava from the Cumbre Vieja volcano has destroyed at least 150 houses and forced thousands of people to flee, mostly in Los Llanos de Aridane and nearby El Paso.

Holding back tears as she swept away a thick layer of ash from the street outside her store, Nancy Ferreiro, the jewelry shop owner, said: “There are no words to explain this feeling.”

Less than 5 km (3 miles) to the south, in Todoque, forked tongues of black lava advanced slowly westward, incinerating everything in their path, including houses, schools and the banana plantations that produce the island’s biggest export.

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Emergency services tried to redirect the lava towards a gorge in an effort to minimize damage but had little success.

“Faced with the column of advancing lava … nothing can be done,” regional leader Angel Victor Torres told a news conference, adding that the flow had slowed to a crawl.

Miguel Angel Morcuende, technical director of the Pevolca eruption taskforce, said the lava’s speed had reduced so much that it might not reach the sea.

Experts had originally predicted it would hit the Atlantic Ocean late on Monday, potentially causing explosions and sending out clouds of toxic gases. Marine authorities are keeping a two nautical mile area in the sea closed as a precaution.

Morcuende said for now there was no indication that gases released by the eruption were damaging to human health.

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People from the El Paso neighbourhood of Jerey were ordered to evacuate on Wednesday as the lava crept close to their homes.


About 6,000 of La Palma’s population of 80,000 have been evacuated since Sunday. Some were allowed back briefly to recover belongings.

Property portal Idealista estimated the volcano had caused around 87 million euros ($130 million) in property destruction so far.

Late on Tuesday, the Canary Islands’ volcanology institute said the scale of seismic activity within the volcano was intensifying.

Drone footage captured towers of magma bursting high into the air, spraying debris onto the flanks of the Cumbre Vieja volcano.

No fatalities or injuries have been reported.
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Firefighters retreat as volcanic explosions increase in La Palma
Author of the article:Reuters
Reuters
Guillermo Martinez and Jon Nazca
Publishing date:Sep 24, 2021 • 19 hours ago • 2 minute read • Join the conversation
Lava from a volcano eruption flows on the island of La Palma in the Canaries, on Sept. 23, 2021.
Lava from a volcano eruption flows on the island of La Palma in the Canaries, on Sept. 23, 2021. PHOTO BY EMILIO MORENATTI/POOL /AFP via Getty Images
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LA PALMA — Intensifying volcanic explosions on the Spanish island of La Palma forced firefighters to retreat and authorities to evacuate three more towns on Friday, while airlines cancelled flights due to a huge cloud of gas and ash.

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Firefighters pulled out of clean-up work in the town of Todoque on Friday afternoon as a new vent opened up in the flank of the volcano and videos shared on social media showed a massive shockwave emanating out from the eruption site.


“The volcano is in a newly explosive phase…Firefighters will not operate anymore today,” tweeted the Tenerife fire service, which has been deployed to help on La Palma.

Authorities ordered the evacuation of the towns of Tajuya, Tacande de Abajo and the part of Tacande de Arriba that had not already been evacuated on Friday afternoon, with residents told to gather at the local football ground.

Emergency services had initially told residents to stay indoors to avoid the dense cloud of ash and lava fragments being carried through the air but moved to an evacuation due to the heightened risk from explosions.

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Since erupting on Sunday, the Cumbre Vieja volcano has spewed out thousands of tons of lava, destroyed hundreds of houses and forced the evacuation of thousands of people.


No serious injuries or fatalities have been reported but some 15% of the island’s economically crucial banana crop could be at risk, jeopardizing thousands of jobs.

Local Canary Island carrier Binter said on Friday it had canceled all flights to La Palma due to the volcano eruption, while Spanish airline Iberia canceled its only flight scheduled for the day, and another local airline, Canaryfly, also suspended its operations.

Binter said in an statement that it was forced to halt its operations to and from La Palma as the ash cloud produced by the volcano had worsened considerably in the last few hours.

The local airline, which had initially only canceled night flights, said it did not have a time frame to resume operations.

A cloud of toxic gas and ash extends more than 4 kilometres (2.5 miles) into the sky, the Canaries volcanology institute said on Thursday.

It has begun to drift northeast toward the Mediterranean and Spanish mainland, the AEMET national weather agency said.

Airspace above the island remains open apart from two small areas near the eruption site.
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Ron in Regina

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Locally this is a disaster, but for the East Coast of North America this is a relief valve that buys more time. When this one goes big someday, & this island splits with the west side sliding into the Atlantic, the East Coast of North America is going to get wet with the Atlantic quickly rolling inland changing maps going forward.
 

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Airport closed as La Palma volcano eruption intensifies
Author of the article:Reuters
Reuters
Guillermo Martinez and Jon Nazca
Publishing date:Sep 25, 2021 • 15 hours ago • 2 minute read • Join the conversation
Lava and smoke rise following the eruption of a volcano on the Canary Island of La Palma, in El Paso, Spain, September 25, 2021.
Lava and smoke rise following the eruption of a volcano on the Canary Island of La Palma, in El Paso, Spain, September 25, 2021. PHOTO BY JON NAZCA /REUTERS
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LA PALMA — Volcanic explosions spewed red hot lava high into the air on La Palma on Saturday as a new emission vent opened, forcing the small Spanish island to close its airport and causing long queues for boats off the island.

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The Cumbre Vieja volcano, which began erupting last Sunday, is entering a new explosive phase. The Canary Islands Volcanology Institute, Involcan, said the new emission vent that had opened was to the west of the principle vent.


The national Geographical and Mining Institute said its drones had shown the volcano’s cone had broken.

“It is not unusual in this type of eruption that the cone of the volcano fractures. A crater is formed that does not support its own weight and … the cone breaks,” Miguel Angel Morcuende, director of volcano response committee Pevolca, told a news conference on Saturday. “This partial rupture happened overnight.”

Morcuende said the evacuations currently in place would be maintained for another 24 hours as a precaution.

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The volcano has spewed out thousands of tons of lava, destroyed hundreds of houses and forced the evacuation of nearly 6,000 people since it began erupting last Sunday. La Palma, with a population of over 83,000, is one of an archipelago making up the Canary Islands in the Atlantic.

Spanish airport operator Aena said the island’s airport had closed.


“La Palma airport is inoperative due to ash accumulation. Cleaning tasks have started, but the situation may change at any time,” it tweeted.

Workers swept volcanic ash off the runway, electronic boards showed canceled flights and the departures hall was quiet as some people arriving at the airport discovered they would not be able to fly out.

There were long queues at La Palma’s main port as people, some whose flights had been canceled, tried to get ferries off the island.

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“I am going to Barcelona. But because we can’t fly we are taking the ferry to Los Cristianos (on Tenerife island) and from there we will go to the airport and fly to Barcelona,” said Carlos Garcia, 47.

People evacuated from three more towns on Friday will not be able to return to their homes to retrieve their belongings because of the “evolution of the volcanic emergency,” local authorities said.

“Volcanic surveillance measurements carried out since the beginning of the eruption recorded the highest-energy activity so far during Friday afternoon,” emergency services said.

At the quiet port of Tazacorte, fishermen described the devastating effect the eruption has had on their livelihoods.

“We haven’t been out fishing in a week, the area is closed,” said Jose Nicolas San Luis Perez, 49, who lost his house in the eruption.

“About half the people I know have lost their homes,” he told Reuters. “I run into friends on the street and we start crying.”

On Friday, authorities evacuated the towns of Tajuya, Tacande de Abajo and the part of Tacande de Arriba that had not already been evacuated after the new vent opened up in the flank of the volcano.
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spaminator

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La Palma volcano roars back to life as lava nears the sea
Author of the article:Reuters
Reuters
Jon Nazca and Nacho Doce
Publishing date:Sep 27, 2021 • 13 hours ago • 2 minute read • Join the conversation
The Cumbre Vieja volcano resumes its activity after a short period of inactivity in Los Llanos de Aridane on the Canary island of La Palma on September 27, 2021.
The Cumbre Vieja volcano resumes its activity after a short period of inactivity in Los Llanos de Aridane on the Canary island of La Palma on September 27, 2021. PHOTO BY DESIREE MARTIN /AFP via Getty Images
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LA PALMA — The volcano on Spain’s La Palma island began ejecting ash and smoke again on Monday after a brief lull, while hundreds of people in coastal villages were locked down in anticipation of the lava reaching the sea and releasing toxic gas.

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A column of white smoke rose from the Cumbre Vieja volcano after several hours of calm around 11 a.m. local time (1000 GMT), according to Reuters witnesses. Researchers confirmed it began spewing out lava at the same time.


“It’s something normal with this type of eruption,” said Miguel Angel Morcuende, director of the Pevolca response committee. “The volcano has periods of growth and periods of decay.”

His Pevolca colleague, Maria Jose Blanco, said lower levels of gas and a reduced supply of material within the crater could have caused the drop in activity.

Since Sept. 19, black lava has been slowly flowing down the volcano’s western flank toward the sea, destroying more than 500 houses as well as churches and banana plantations, according to the European Union’s Copernicus disaster monitoring program.

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Spanish property portal Idealista estimated the damage at around 178 million euros ($209 million) on Monday.

On Monday, two tongues of the superheated black lava were rounding a hill to the west of the small town of Todoque, less than a kilometre from the Atlantic, but authorities said they could not be sure when it might reach the sea.

Still, around 300 locals in the coastal areas of San Borondon, Marina Alta and Baja and La Condesa have been confined to their homes as the moment of contact between the lava and the sea will likely trigger explosions and emit clouds of chlorine gas.


Local airline Binter, which had planned to resume flights to and from the islands on Monday afternoon, said conditions were still unsafe and that all transfers would be cancelled until Tuesday.

After a new vent opened on Sunday, Reuters drone footage showed a river of red hot lava flowing down the slopes of the crater, passing over homes, and swathes of land and buildings engulfed by a black mass of slower-moving, older lava.

No fatalities or serious injuries have been reported, but about 15% of the island’s banana crop could be at risk, jeopardizing thousands of jobs.

La Palma, with a population of over 83,000, is part of an archipelago making up the Canary Islands.
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spaminator

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Nine days after eruption, lava from La Palma volcano reaches ocean
Author of the article:Reuters
Reuters
Miguel Pereira and Marco Trujillo
Publishing date:Sep 28, 2021 • 8 hours ago • 1 minute read • Join the conversation
Lava flows into the sea, as seen from Tijarafe, following the eruption of a volcano on the Canary Island of La Palma, Spain, Sept. 29, 2021.
Lava flows into the sea, as seen from Tijarafe, following the eruption of a volcano on the Canary Island of La Palma, Spain, Sept. 29, 2021. PHOTO BY BORJA SUAREZ /REUTERS
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LA PALMA — Red hot lava from a volcano that devastated the Spanish island of La Palma reached the Atlantic Ocean late on Tuesday evening, nine days after it started to flow down the mountain, wrecking buildings and destroying crops.

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Big clouds of white steam billowed up from the Playa Nueva area as the lava made contact with the ocean, according to Reuters images. Photographs shared on social media showed the lava piling up near a cliff.


Officials said the lava flowing into the sea could trigger explosions and clouds of toxic gases and the Canary Islands’ emergency service urged those outdoors to immediately find a safe place to shelter. No injuries have been reported.

“When the lava reaches the sea, the lockdown must be strictly observed,” Miguel Angel Morcuende, director of the Pevolca response committee, said earlier on Tuesday.

Lava has been flowing down the Cumbre Vieja volcano’s western flank toward the sea since Sept. 19, destroying almost 600 houses and banana plantations in La Palma, which neighbours Tenerife in the Canary Islands archipelago off the North African coast.

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Thousands of people have been evacuated and three coastal villages were locked down on Monday in anticipation of the lava meeting the Atlantic Ocean.


Spain classified La Palma as a disaster zone on Tuesday, a move that will trigger financial support for the island.

The government announced a first package of 10.5 million euros, which includes around 5 million euros to buy houses, with the rest to acquire furniture and essential household goods, government spokesperson Isabel Rodriguez said.

One resident who was evacuated last week from the village of Tacande de Arriba was delighted to find his house still standing and his pet cats unscathed.

“It’s a good feeling, a fantastic feeling,” said Gert Waegerle, 75, who fled the advancing lava with his five turtles on Friday but had to leave the cats behind.

“I am super happy because in the end, everything turned out fine.”
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spaminator

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Stay-home order lifted for residents near La Palma volcano eruption
Author of the article:Reuters
Reuters
Publishing date:Oct 02, 2021 • 17 hours ago • 1 minute read • Join the conversation
A handwritten message is seen on a rock covered with volcanic ash following the Cumbre Vieja volcano eruption, at the port of Tazacorte, on the Canary Island of La Palma, Spain October 2, 2021.
A handwritten message is seen on a rock covered with volcanic ash following the Cumbre Vieja volcano eruption, at the port of Tazacorte, on the Canary Island of La Palma, Spain October 2, 2021. PHOTO BY MARCO TRUJILLO /REUTERS
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LA PALMA — Authorities advised people to limit time outdoors in parts of La Palma on Saturday as the erupting volcano on the Spanish island spewed red-hot lava and thick clouds of black smoke.

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However emergency services lifted a stay-home order that had been in effect in Los Llanos de Aridane, El Paso and areas of Tazacorte, places near the volcano that had been affected by poor air quality.


“In response to the improvement in air quality measurements in the area, the lockdown in Tazacorte, El Paso and Los Llanos de Aridane will be lifted,” the services said in a statement.

They advised people to continue to avoid spending a “prolonged amount of time” outside, and said vulnerable groups including children and the elderly should remain indoors.

The Cumbre Vieja volcano began its fiery eruption on Sept. 19 and has destroyed more than 800 buildings. About 6,000 people have been evacuated from their homes on the island, which has a population of about 83,000 and is one of an archipelago making up the Canary Islands in the Atlantic.


On Friday, lava flowed from a new vent in the volcano, which the Canaries Volcanology Institute described as a new “focus of eruption.”

The volcano was experiencing “intense activity,” Miguel Angel Morcuende, director of the Pevolca response committee, told a news conference on Friday. But he also put the eruption into the context of the wider island.

“Less than 8% of the island is affected by the volcano. The rest is leading a normal life,” he said.
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Spain's PM vows to rebuild La Palma as volcano eruption gathers force
Author of the article:Reuters
Reuters
Publishing date:Oct 03, 2021 • 7 hours ago • 2 minute read • Join the conversation
A woman climbs a hill with a child to see the Cumbre Vieja volcano as it continues to erupt in Tacande de Arriba on the Canary Island of La Palma, Spain, October 2, 2021.
A woman climbs a hill with a child to see the Cumbre Vieja volcano as it continues to erupt in Tacande de Arriba on the Canary Island of La Palma, Spain, October 2, 2021. PHOTO BY JUAN MEDINA /REUTERS
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LA PALMA — Red-hot lava exploded high into the air from La Palma’s volcano on Sunday night as the eruption gathered force, hours after Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said Spain would help rebuild the island, adding that it was safe for tourists to visit.

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Local media reported the north side of the volcano had collapsed late on Sunday, causing a faster flow of lava.


Cadena Ser radio said the collapse had formed a new lava flow that was threatening several nearby towns.

“A clear increase in effusive activity has been observed in the last few minutes,” the Volcanology Institute of the Canary Islands, Involcan, said earlier on Twitter.

The volcano emitted a loud booming noise and lava exploded with force from its crater.

Making his third visit to La Palma, one of the Atlantic Canary Islands, since the eruption began on Sept. 19, Sanchez said earlier on Sunday that the government would approve 206 million euros ($239 million US) of aid funding this week.

“Next Tuesday, the cabinet will approve a package of very powerful measures [to assist in] areas such as infrastructure reconstruction, water supply, employment, agriculture, tourism and benefits,” he told a news conference.

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The Cumbre Vieja volcano has destroyed more than 900 buildings. About 6,000 people have been evacuated from homes on the island out of a population of some 83,000.

“We are facing a test of resistance … because we do not know when the eruption of the volcano will end,” Sanchez said.

“What residents should know is that when it does end, the government of Spain will be there to tackle the enormous task of rebuilding La Palma.”

The financial package is the second stage of a plan approved last week. The first stage saw the government announce aid of 10.5 million euros ($12.3 million) for the immediate assistance of those who had lost their homes.


Sanchez also encouraged tourists who were considering visiting La Palma not to be put off. Tourism is the Canary Islands’ major industry.

“I would like to let tourists know that this is a safe place, they can come and enjoy the island,” he said.
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Volcanic lava in Spain's La Palma engulfs more houses
Author of the article:Reuters
Reuters
Silvio Castellanos and Juan Medina
Publishing date:Oct 09, 2021 • 18 hours ago • 1 minute read • Join the conversation
Lava flows in La Palma, Spain, Oct. 8, 2021, in this still image obtained from a social media video.
Lava flows in La Palma, Spain, Oct. 8, 2021, in this still image obtained from a social media video. PHOTO BY INVOLCAN /via REUTERS
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LA PALMA — Red-hot lava engulfed the land Jose Roberto Sanchez inherited from his parents on Saturday and lightning flashed around the rim of the volcano that has been erupting on the Spanish island of La Palma for almost three weeks.

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There were 37 seismic movements on Saturday, with the largest measuring 4.1, the Spanish National Geological Institute said, but La Palma’s airport reopened after being closed since Thursday because of ash, Spanish air traffic operator Aena said. All other Canary Islands airports are open.


The magma streaming down the hillside from the Cumbre Vieja volcano destroyed at least four village buildings, some of nearly 1,150 buildings and surrounding land destroyed since the volcano began erupting on Sept. 19.

“The memories of my parents, the inheritance I had there, it’s all gone,” Sanchez told Reuters of the land his parents owned in Todoque in the west of the island.

Lava has engulfed 493 hectares (1,218 acres) of land, Miguel Ángel Morcuende, technical director of the Canary Islands Volcanic Emergency Plan (Pevolca) organization, said.

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Some people, like Clara Maria, 70, who also lives in Todoque, have so far escaped the impact.

“The lava has not yet reached my house. (It) was 50 years of sacrifice, stone by stone we built it. I have hope and faith that it will be saved,” she said.

About 6,000 people have been evacuated from their homes on La Palma, which has about 83,000 inhabitants.


Lightning flashes were seen near the eruption early on Saturday. A study published in 2016 by the journal Geophysical Research Letters found lightning can be produced during volcanic eruptions because the collision of ash particles creates an electrical charge.

Airlines flying to the Canary Islands were advised to load extra fuel in case planes had to change course or delay landing because of ash, said a spokesman for Enaire, which controls navigation in Spanish airspace.
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Lava blocks the size of buildings falling from La Palma volcano
Author of the article:Reuters
Reuters
Silvio Castellanos and Juan Medina
Publishing date:Oct 10, 2021 • 21 hours ago • 1 minute read • Join the conversation
Lava flows from the Cumbre Vieja Volcano in La Palma, Spain, Saturday, Oct. 9, 2021.
Lava flows from the Cumbre Vieja Volcano in La Palma, Spain, Saturday, Oct. 9, 2021. PHOTO BY MARCOS DEL MAZO /Getty Images
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LA PALMA — Blocks of molten lava as large as three-story buildings rolled down a hillside on the Spanish island of La Palma on Sunday while a series of tremors shook the ground three weeks after the volcano erupted.

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There were 21 seismic movements on Sunday, with the largest measuring 3.8, the Spanish National Geological Institute (ING) said, shaking the ground in the villages of Mazo, Fuencaliente and El Paso.


The blocks of red-hot magma flowed down the side of the Cumbre Vieja volcano were the size of three-story buildings, the Spanish Institute of Geology and Mining said.

From Monday, members of the Spanish Navy will help clean volcanic ash that covers large parts of the island, Defence Minister Margarita Robles said during a visit on Sunday.

The lava flow, with temperatures of up to 1,240 degrees Celsius (2,264 degrees Fahrenheit), destroyed the last few buildings that remained standing in the village of Todoque, the Canary Islands Volcanology Institute said on Twitter.


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There was a partial cone collapse near the volcano’s emission vent on Saturday, Stavros Meletlidis, a spokesman for ING told Reuters.

“The collapse of the northern flank of the Cumbre Vieja volcano has caused the release of large blocks of material and the appearance of new flows that run through areas already evacuated,” tweeted Spain’s National Security Department.

“The lava has reached the Camino de la Gata industrial estate and new buildings.”


Rivers of lava have destroyed 1,186 buildings since the eruption on Sept. 19, the Canary Islands Volcanic Institute said.

Lava has engulfed 493 hectares (1,218 acres) of land, said Miguel Ángel Morcuende, technical director of the Canary Islands Volcanic Emergency Plan (Pevolca) organization.

About 6,000 people have been evacuated from their homes on La Palma, which has about 83,000 inhabitants.

Lightning was seen near the eruption early on Saturday. A study published in 2016 by the journal Geophysical Research Letters found lightning can be produced during volcanic eruptions because the collision of ash particles creates an electrical charge.
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