It has never been calm around the volcano at La Palma, since the eruption began on September 19. No further vibrations have been measured yet on Monday evening. According to experts, seismic activity has practically stopped.
It is an exotic experience for the people of the Canary Island. For weeks, rivers of gushing lava have been pouring down from the volcano, blanketing parts of the island in showers of ash. Due to the eruption of the volcano, small La Palma grew up to 48 hectares, and liters of lava flowed into the sea.
But now, according to experts, sometimes only some “background noise” can be heard from the volcano. The occasional plume of smoke is all that comes out of the crater.
new blast
But that doesn’t mean Cumbre Vieja is actually finished spitting. Experts believe that it is very likely that the volcano will continue to erupt. Because before the eruption actually ends, the volcano must remain silent for ten days.
So the countdown to the residents of La Palma has begun. “It is better not to give false hopes. For example, a volcanic eruption in 1949 stopped for a few days and then resumed,” a geologist told Reuters news agency.
Island under the ashes
Meanwhile, Cumbre Vieja has left deep marks in La Palma after nearly three months of spitting. For example, a large part of the island will still have to be closed on Monday due to the emission of toxic gases. Thousands of residents have been forced to leave their homes in recent weeks.
The volcano destroyed nearly 3,000 buildings and many banana plantations are very important to the local economy. Houses in the disaster area that were not submerged by the flowing lava were often covered with meters of black ash.
no records
Although the volcano erupting almost three months took a long time for the residents of La Palma, it is not a record in this region.
The Tagoro volcano spat underwater near the Canary Island near El Hierro for 147 days. And a volcano in Lanzarote, after the eruption of the volcano in 1730, only finished ejecting six years later.