The lava flows from La Laguna slow down their advance, but they continue to receive lava: “The sword of Damocles continues on us”

The volcano of La Palma gives a respite to the residents of the towns of La Laguna and Tazacorte. But the threat continues. “We continue to have the sword of Damocles upon us,” said Miguel Ángel Morcuende, technical director of the Canary Islands Volcanic Emergency Plan this Friday. The spokesman explained that this casting 8 – according to the nomenclature of the Military Emergency Unit (UME) – is “the one that worries the most. At present, it has stopped its passage, after the rapid advance that registered in the afternoon of Wednesday. However, it continues to receive input from the central cone of the volcano, which indicates that it could continue on its way shortly ”.

The question lies in knowing which path it is going to follow after entering La Laguna this Wednesday: if it turns, as a result of the orography, towards the southwest and is integrated into the stream that goes towards the sea, or if it “moves towards the northwest , following the direction of the evacuated towns ”last Wednesday (Las Martelas in Los Llanos de Aridane, and Marina Alta, Marina Baja, Cuesta Zapata and La Condesa in Tazacorte).

Regarding the speed of the lava, Morcuende has repeatedly explained that magma, when it separates “from areas already beaten, already destroyed”, what it does is “accumulate solids and communicate a lot of heat to the ground”. Consequently, it loses speed and gains in viscosity. This is what is happening in this area.

The situation of farmers, especially banana trees, constitutes one of the most pressing problems facing the Government of the Canary Islands. For this, the Ministry of Ecological Transition, Fight against Climate Change and Territorial Planning has announced this Friday that it has begun the installation of the mixing tanks in which the water of the five contributions planned for the supply of irrigation and maintenance will be combined. of the farms affected by the La Palma volcano: the one from the tanker provided by the State, the two portable desalination plants, the Peña Horeb well and an additional desalination plant from a hotel in Puerto Naos.

The volcano is gaining ground on the island. The affected area amounts to 886.6 hectares. In total, the runoffs have razed 2,122 buildings, and another 137 are at risk, according to Copernicus data.

The lower height of the volcanic plume, the regime of winds that go from north to northeast and the end of the haze episode represent good news for the operation of the island airport. In this situation, the areas most affected by the ash fall are those located in the vicinity of the eruptive focus and to the south and southeast of it, although it is not ruled out that they may reach El Hierro, La Gomera and the west of Tenerife. As for seismicity, the palm trees must expect that new earthquakes will occur. “It continues to be located in a similar way to the first days of the eruption: at depths between 10 and 15 kilometers,” explained Carmen López, director of the National Geophysical Observatory. López added that the seismic movements have “increased their frequency” and new episodes are expected.

This is the panorama that the President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, will find this Saturday, in what will be his fifth visit since the lava began to erupt from Cumbre Vieja on September 19. This trip will aim to “monitor the effects caused by the eruption,” according to sources from La Moncloa. The trip was preceded by the statements of the Minister of Territorial Policy and Government spokesperson, Isabel Rodríguez, at a press conference offered on La Palma: “This will not end when the volcano stops expelling lava, this will end when it recovers life and normalcy on the island ”, he declared. “The first aid for the emergency to the municipalities will go directly to the Cabildo so that they can be managed diligently in the coming days.”

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