Authorities in La Palma, Canary Islands, determined the confinement of about 3,000 people this Monday (22) due to the arrival of a new lava flow from the Cumbre Vieja volcano into the sea, a process that could release gases that are harmful to health.
According to the 112 emergency service on Twitter, the confinement determined by the Volcanic Emergency Plan of the Canary Islands (Pevolca) impacts the population of San Borondón, Tezacorte and the stretch between El Cardón and Camino Los Palomares, in the north.
The arrival of this new lava flow at sea, the third since the Cumbre Vieja erupted 64 days ago, also leads to the formation of a new delta. This time, the phenomenon will take place in the area called El Perdido, according to the Spanish newspaper El País, located just under 2 kilometers north of the annex that appeared on September 28th.
Although lava flows affect only the west of the island, this Monday volcanic ash forced the suspension of operations at the airport in Santa Cruz de la Palma, capital of the island, which is located in the eastern region. Regional airline Binter, the main airline operating flights to neighboring islands, has announced the cancellation of all flights to and from La Palma.
In addition, the technical director of Pevolca, Miguel Ángel Morcuende, recommended that the inhabitants of the capital protect themselves with PFF2 masks from sulfur dioxide and other harmful particles suspended in the air by the eruption. It is the first time this type of recommendation has been made. People who suffer from respiratory or heart problems should stay at home and absolutely limit their outings, he advised.
Cumbre Vieja has now entered its third month of eruption with no end in sight, affecting nearly 1,500 buildings to date — of which nearly 1,100 are residential. According to the latest data from the European Copernicus geospatial measurement system, lava has already covered 1,065 hectares of the islands.
In addition to the impact on real estate, the delta formations modify the island’s geography, creating a legal limbo regarding coastal land. Spanish law determines that the first strip of a coast is part of the maritime-land public domain, that is, it belongs to the State.
According to the norm established in the Constitution and in the Coastal Law, the line includes “the maritime-terrestrial zone or space comprised between the low-water line […] and the limit that the waves reach in the biggest storms known.” That is, with a delta that advances over the sea, this band is modified, and what was previously in the public maritime-land domain can now become private property. , however, the opening of a process to declare that a state good no longer has public utility.
The new training is entirely the responsibility of the State, since, according to the same Coastal Law, “ascensions on the seafront by depositing materials or removal from the sea, whatever the causes” are also within the maritime public domain zone. terrestrial.
In addition, the Law on Natural Heritage and Biodiversity determines which geological natural resources must be protected by the Spanish government.
And then there’s the impact on the island’s biodiversity. As explained by Manuel Nogales, biologist at the Higher Council for Scientific Research at the Institute of Natural Products and Agrobiology, heard by sheet in October, it is estimated that only 30% of plants survive conditions like this one caused by eruptions, and animals such as reptiles are hit hard — either dying from heat or suffocation.
In the maritime part, despite the changes caused by the hot lava that flows there, the expectation is for a quick recovery. Nogales recalled that, about ten years ago, an underwater eruption destroyed the local biodiversity, but that it recovered in two and a half years — to a point where it can be considered better than before.
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