The advance of lava on La Palma enters a phase of stability and slowness
If a new wash manages to reach the sea, it would cause the confinement of thousands of people due to the harmful gases resulting from the contact of the lava and the ocean.
Photo: JORGE GUERRERO / Getty Images
The different lava flows that advance down the slope from the Cumbre Vieja volcano on the Canary Island of La Palma have entered a phase of “stability and slowness”, even the one that until now was showing more active and that is now just 160 meters from the sea.
Estimates of Researchers in the area point out that due to the flow rate and speed of this wash, of just 2 meters per hour, an imminent arrival at sea is not foreseeable.
In the event that it falls into the ocean and a new lava delta or “fajana” begins to form, such as the one that emerged in the first days of the eruption, the possibility of explosions and the emission of polluting gases it would force residents of the closest areas to be confined to their homes.
The technical director of the Canary Islands Volcanic Emergency Plan -the body that coordinates and supervises the actions related to the eruption-, Miguel Ángel Morcuende, explained today that in the last hours a “clear loss of contribution” of lava to the castings, which instead of advancing are increasing in thickness.
In the meantime, the Spanish island tries as much as possible to regain normality. This Monday more than 4,500 students and almost 600 teachers from the Aridane Valley, the most affected municipality, have returned to the classrooms, which they had to leave almost a month ago.
The return to the classroom has passed without incident and with 90% of the students in their positions.
More than the noise of the volcano, the most annoying thing has been the ash. From day one, the schools have had to apply the poor air quality protocol: all the children have been confined in class, with the windows sealed, and have not been able to go to recess or do physical education.
And when leaving class they have been provided with FFP2 masks, protective glasses and caps with visors.
The other point of interest this Monday has been at the La Palma airport, where the airline Binter has resumed its operations for a few hours, until it has been forced to cancel the last four flights that it had scheduled due to the presence of ash in track.
While, the volcano still shows no signs of weakness despite a reduction in sulfur dioxide emissions, below the threshold of 5,000 tons per day according to measurements made yesterday.
In any case, it is an underestimated assessment due to the technical difficulties in carrying out the measurements. and very far from the 100 tons to which it would have to be lowered to begin to think about a remission of the eruptive process.
The seismicity associated with it continues to be active, with 61 earthquakes recorded in a twelve-hour period since last midnight, when one of magnitude 4.6 was recorded in the town of Mazo 36 kilometers deep.
Tremors felt by the population continue to occur, in any case at depths ranging between 10 and 37 kilometers, and that scientists dissociate from the possible appearance of new eruptive foci far from the one active in the Cumbre Vieja area.
A few hours after the first month of the eruption, the latest count indicates that in total there are 763.32 hectares affected, 20 more than yesterday, of which 228.9 correspond to cultivated areas (128.07 of banana trees; 52.02 vineyards and 16.9 avocados). In addition, there are 1,956 buildings destroyed and 61 at risk.
The height of the ash and gas column was 4,000 meters and today it was in a favorable position for the operation of the La Palma airport, which, however, could be affected in the central hours of tomorrow due to the winds.
In the institutional framework, the Government of Spain continues to adopt measures to help the sectors most affected and announced that it will boost investment in tourism and congresses.
In addition, Spain is going to propose that the next meeting of ministers of the OECD digital area be held in the Canary Islands in 2022.
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