MADRID (Reuters) – The eruption of the Cumbre Vieja volcano located on the Spanish island of La Palma, in the Canary Islands, was declared officially finished by scientists on Saturday.
After waking up on September 19, the volcano suddenly calmed down on Monday, December 13, but authorities preferred to wait until Christmas Day to confirm the news.
“What I mean today can be summed up in a few words: The rash is over,” Julio Perez, Canary Islands regional security chief, told a press conference.
During the eruption, lava washed down the side of the mountain, engulfing houses, churches and many banana plantations, which account for almost half of the island’s economy. However, it did not cause any casualties.
Some 3,000 properties were destroyed by the lava which now covers 1,219 hectares, or the equivalent of about 1,500 football fields, according to the final count of the emergency services.
(Report Nathan Allen, French version Jean-Michel Blot)