Spain’s La Palma Volcano Eruption Continues, Spewing Thicker Lava

Geologists monitoring the Cumbre Vieja volcano on the Spanish Island of La Palma say an eruption Tuesday has been louder and more explosive than in previous days, with thicker lava flowing from the volcano’s main vent.

From its Twitter account, the Canary Islands Volcanology Institute, Involcan, called the eruption “explosive with falling pyroclasts [fragments of molten rock] and bombs.”

The institute released a video from Monday night, showing a block of molten rock it said had hit a wall more than a kilometer away from the vent, as an example of the volcano’s explosive activity.

Meanwhile, the Spanish government Tuesday approved a second aid package for the island and its residents.   

At news conference in Madrid, the minister for parliamentary affairs, Félix Bolaños, announced the package worth nearly $250 million. He said that was an estimate, as it is difficult at this time to accurately assess the damage done by the volcano.  

He also announced a package worth more than $23 million to compensate the island’s fishing and agriculture industries. Bolaños said much of the money would go to repair damage to irrigation infrastructure and rural roads. He said public land will be exchanged so that agricultural businesses can continue with their work away from the areas that have been razed by the lava.

The volcanic eruption that started September 19 has forced the evacuation of more than 6,000 of La Palma’s roughly 85,000 residents. The island is part of the Canary Islands archipelago off the northwest coast of Africa.

Some information for this report came from the Associated Press and Reuters.
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