A large column of black smoke covered the sky over La Palma, one of the islands that form the Spanish Canary archipelago, after the eruption of the Cumbre Vieja volcano. In the last week, a series of 3.8 magnitude earthquakes had heralded the event, preparing the authorities and citizens for the eventual emergency. The Spanish premier Pedro Sanchez has decided to postpone his trip to the United States, where the UN general assembly is scheduled, and is heading to the island to “get to know the situation closely,” he wrote on Twitter.
In recent days, the authorities had declared the “yellow” alert level, the second out of four, for the municipalities of Fuencaliente, Los Llanos de Aridane, El Paso y Mazo, where about 35 thousand people live. A river of lava is coming down in the direction of the village of El Paso whose mayor, Sergio Rodriguez, ordered the evacuation of 300 inhabitants who were in a situation of immediate danger and were sheltered in a nearby football field. The surrounding streets were closed and onlookers were asked not to approach the area.
This morning already 40 people with reduced mobility living in neighboring villages had been removed from the area, as well as the animals that were found on the surrounding farms. Other citizens were asked to be ready to leave their homes, and to report sightings of gas, ash, changes in the water level or small tremors to the emergency services.
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The Cumbre Vieja de La Palma is one of the most active volcanic complexes in the Canary Islands: two of the last three eruptions recorded on the islands took place in this area, the one at the San Juan volcano, in 1949, and the one at Teneguìa, in 1971, where a man lost his life while trying to take some photographs near the lava flow.
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