It will take years, even a decade, to clean, clear, rebuild … The eruption of the Cumbre Vieja volcano, on the Spanish island of La Palma, in the Canary archipelago, officially ended on Saturday, December 25. “Today, the scientific committee can say it, (…) the rash is over “, announced Julio Pérez, the director of the volcanic emergency plan of the Canaries (Pevolca) during a press conference. “There is no lava, no significant gas emission, no significant earthquakes”, listed the manager, recalling that this rash lasted “85 days and 18 hours”, or since September 19.
It took ten consecutive days with no visible sign of volcanic activity, a time required according to scientific experts, to be able to say that the episode was over. The end of the eruption had been felt several times over the past three months, before resuming each time a few days later, to the dismay of the inhabitants of the island.
In the history of La Palma, an island located in the Atlantic Ocean, off the northwest coast of Africa, never has an eruption lasted so long. Experts say the place will remain dangerous for some time to come due to persistent toxic gas emissions and the slow cooling of the lava. Not to mention the risk of land collapse.
The eruption did not kill anybody, but caused enormous damage: more than 7,000 people were evacuated, of which approximately 600 still live in hotels, and nearly 3,000 buildings were destroyed. The lava covered 1,250 hectares of the island’s surface area and also enlarged it: the flows which reached the sea solidified and gave birth to two peninsulas, adding to the surface of the island 44 ha for one and 5 ha for the other, according to the latest data provided by local authorities.
The rash caused three months of paralysis. The tourism sector, crucial on this island, has suffered from regular disruptions in air traffic and the closure of La Palma airport. The lava has also done a lot of harm to the banana plantations, the other key sector of the local economy, since it represents 50% of its GDP: 10% of the land is devoted to agriculture, mainly to the cultivation of bananas, according to the La Palma World Biosphere Reserve Foundation. Thus, the damage could exceed 900 million euros, according to local authorities.
The Spanish government, whose leader Pedro Sánchez has visited the site on numerous occasions, has pledged 225 million euros in aid intended in particular to build housing and buy basic necessities, as well as to direct subsidies to farmers and fishermen. Madrid also called on the European Commission to activate the European Union solidarity fund.