Since the eruption on La Palma began on September 19, the volcano has covered 1,184 hectares of lava, taking away several buildings.
The volcano on the Spanish island of La Palma this Sunday celebrates 85 days expelling lava, making it the longest eruption recorded on that island and one of the longest in Spain.
La Palma, like the rest of the islands of the Canary archipelago, has volcanic origin, and the existence of other eruptions is in the memory of its inhabitants, but this one, due to its duration and magnitude, has become a relevant event.
Since the eruption began on September 19 on La Palma, known as “the beautiful island” for its green landscapes, the volcano has covered 1,184 hectares with lava, taking away cultivation areas and more than 3,000 buildings, including homes and other constructions.
In addition, it has caused the evacuation of more than 7,000 people, since another of its characteristics is that it has taken place in an inhabited area.
The volcano runs out
After 85 days of activity, the volcano shows signs of exhaustion, with less activity, both in terms of tremors and the emission of gases and lava, although scientists insist that caution must be exercised when talking about the end of the eruption.
In the last 24 hours, 24 earthquakes were detected on the island of La Palma, although none were felt by the population.
The flow of lava that it expels also decreased and at present, what worries are the gases that are making it difficult to access to clean the homes of the evacuated area that were not affected by the lava of ash.
Change the appearance of La Palma
Volcanic activity has changed the appearance of the island. In the first place, the main cone of the volcano, which arose on a small hill, already reaches a height of 1,124 meters above sea level, as reported this Sunday by the National Geographic Institute (IGN), and has become an icon of the island.
On the other hand, the successive lava flows that have reached the sea have made the surface of La Palma grow, generating 44 hectares of land, land similar to the Vatican State.
This eruption has allowed scientists to monitor all its incidents up to the minute and to collect data for study. And it has also become a tourist attraction, with the arrival of hundreds of people who want to see up close, record and photograph such a spectacular phenomenon.
However, compared to the beauty of the images that the volcano provides, there is the damage it has caused among the residents of the area.
In these almost three months of activity, the volcano, still unnamed, has caused damage of more than 900 million euros (more than a billion dollars).
The good news is that no one lost their lives during the eruption, although the death of a man while visiting his properties in an evacuated area is being investigated to find out if he died due to the volcano or natural causes.
85 days of eruption
The 85 days of eruption of the volcano make it one of the longest recorded in Spain, although still a long way from Timanfaya, on the Canary Island of Lanzarote, which in the 18th century was active for six years, a period in which it raised mountains. and buried eleven municipalities.
Until now, the longest eruption on La Palma was that of the Tehuya volcano, which erupted on May 19, 1585 after intense seismic activity that lasted for 84 days and ended on August 10 of that year.
The last eruption on La Palma to date was on June 24, 1949, the San Juan or Nambroque volcano, which lasted for 47 days. (I)
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