Spanish local emergency services on Wednesday said between 700 and 800 people have been evacuated as a result of the ongoing volcanic eruption on the island of La Palma.
The new wave of evacuations came after approximately 6,000 people who were evacuated in the early days of the 24-day eruption on the Cumbre Vieja volcan in the southwest of the island.
A new lava flow, which started after the north face of the crater collapsed at the weekend, so far covered 595 hectares (5.95 square kms) of land on the island.
This which forms part of the Canary Island archipelago off the northwest coast of Africa in the Atlantic Ocean.
Meanwhile, an estimated 1,281 buildings have been destroyed by lava and it had also led to the formation of around 60 hectares (0.6 square kms) of new land.
One branch of the new flow on Monday destroyed a cement factory in an industrial estate, leaving 3,500 people from the municipalities of El Paso and Los Llanos de Aridane temporarily confined to their homes due to noxious gasses.
Measurements of Sulphur dioxide and a continued chain of small earthquakes have implied that this eruption would last much longer.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said he would make another visit to La Palma on Wednesday, his fourth of the kind over the three weeks.
The prime minister would give further details of his government’s emergency aid plan.
The plan had already designated 206 million euros (about 237.8 million U.S. dollars) in aid to help evacuees and the island’s economy, which was mainly based on tourism and banana planting.
DISCLAIMER
The OPINION / COLUMN is authored by independent contributors to the National Accord Newspaper. While contributors adhere to our editorial guidelines, they are not employed by the National Accord Newspaper. The perspectives and opinions expressed herein are solely those of the author and do not represent the views of the National Accord Newspaper or its staff.