Eruption of Cumbre Vieja volcano in Spain ends after 85 days

“The eruption is over.” It was with these words that Julio Pérez, Minister of Public Administration, Justice and Security of the Government of the Canary Islands, announced this Saturday (25) that the activity of the volcano Cumbre Vieja came to an end.

This news is undoubtedly awaited with great anticipation by the inhabitants of the island of La Palma, in the Canary Islands, who receive the information on Christmas Day and after three months of waiting for its end.

“The signs registered give us this certainty: there are no significant gases, no earthquakes, no tremors, no significant deformations,” Pérez told a news conference.

“The end of the eruption does not mean the end of the emergency, but it will mean the gradual and orderly beginning of the relocation. [dos afetados] in their homes and the beginning that we can do something to act against the lava, in addition to re-establishing communications,” he added.

85 days and eight hours of activity

In total, the volcano was active in Spain for 85 days and eight hours, causing damage in the order of 900 million euros, informed the Minister of Public Administration of the Government of the Canary Islands.

Specifically, the volcano started its activities on September 19th. At this time, and with the latest data from the Cadastro provided by the Cabildo de La Palma (Canary Islands administrative entity), it is known that its activity destroyed 1,676 buildings, of which 1,345 were for residential use.

On the other hand, data provided by the Copernicus satellite show that the lava emanated covered 1,241 hectares of land, of which 370 correspond to the cultivated area.

Its eruption meant that, over this time, it was necessary to evict more than 7,000 people, according to information from the Cabildo de La Palma.

There are still 560 people staying in hotels, while 43 are still being treated at health centers.