This is the third time that a lava flow has reached the sea since the eruption of the Cumbre Vieja volcano began on September 19. The authorities of the Spanish island of La Palma, in the Canary archipelago, decreed, Monday, November 22, the confinement of about 3,000 people, for fear of potential toxic fumes linked to the arrival in the sea of this new lava flow.
The Canary Islands Volcanic Emergency Plan (Pevolca) “Orders confinement” residents of towns and coastal hamlets, located near the place where lava cascaded into the sea in a large plume of white smoke, announced the archipelago’s emergency services on Twitter. This confinement is due “To the possible emanations of gases harmful to health”, adds the press release.
16.10h | ? Cerca de 3 mil personas están confinadas después de llegar al mar la colada número 7. Este confinamiento… https://t.co/7NcsoRLMgn
Flight disruptions
If the lava only devastated part of the west of the island, the ash spat by the volcano again led to a suspension of operations on Monday at the airport in Santa Cruz de la Palma, the capital of the island. island, located on the east coast, said airport manager Aena. The regional company Binter has announced the cancellation of all its flights to and from La Palma on Monday.
On Sunday, the disruptions at the airport had forced many tourists to fall back on ferries to Tenerife, another island in the archipelago.
In addition, for the first time since the start of the eruption, the island’s authorities have asked the inhabitants of Santa Cruz de la Palma to wear an FFP2 mask, in order to protect themselves from sulfur dioxide fumes.
Experts do not see, for the moment, the end of the eruption which, according to the land register, destroyed almost 1,500 buildings, including nearly 1,100 homes. According to the latest data from the European geospatial measurement system Copernicus, lava has covered 1,065 hectares.