Spain declares La Palma volcano eruption officially over
The eruption of a volcano on the Spanish island of La Palma that destroyed hundreds of homes and large swathes of farmland has ended, officials said Saturday over three months after it began, Report informs via .
The announcement follows 10 days of low-level activity from the Cumbre Vieja volcano on the tiny isle, part of the Canary Islands, which lie off Africa’s northwest coast.
No injuries or deaths have been directly linked to the eruption, which began on September 19, spewing rivers of molten rock and sending ash plume containing toxic gases into the air.
But it destroyed 1,345 homes, mainly on the western side of La Palma, as well as schools, churches, health centers and farm irrigation infrastructure.
The slow-moving lava has covered 1,250 hectares of land as it made its way to the Atlantic, much of it banana plantations, La Palma’s main livelihood along with tourism.
The eruption, which was accompanied by frequent earthquakes, is the first in La Palma since 1971 and the longest on record on the island of around 83,000 people.
The damage from the eruption could exceed 900 million euros ($1.0 billion), according to regional officials.