Saturday 20 November 2021

Ash darkened the sky again
Volcano paralyzes air traffic on La Palmas

The volcano on La Palma still makes life hell for the islanders. The lava masses destroyed a total of 2,600 buildings and displaced 7,000 people. Now all flights have to be canceled again due to the movement of volcanic ash.

The eruption of the volcano Cumbre Vieja on La Palma, which lasted for two months, has again paralyzed air traffic on the Canary Islands. According to an airport spokesperson, all 20 flights were canceled due to volcanic ash. Cumbre is 15 kilometers west of Vieja airport.

For the first time in 50 years, the volcano erupted on 19 September. Huge amounts of lava flowed towards the sea and destroyed 1000 hectares of land and about 2600 buildings. About 7,000 people had to leave their homes due to the natural disaster. Officials on Friday estimated provisional damages at around 900 million euros.

During his visit to La Palma on Friday and Saturday, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced new aid to the economy and the island’s infrastructure. Tourism and banana farming are one of the most important branches of the economy in La Palma, home to about 85,000 people.