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 volcano
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.
Read also: Lao weather authority warns of heavy rains as tropical cyclone approaches
This which forms part of the Canary Island archipelago off the northwest coast of Africa in the Atlantic Ocean.
Related Posts
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.
