Experts will not consider the emergency to be over for the time being and will continue to monitor the volcano’s evolution.
The Canary Islands Volcanic Risk Prevention Plan, Pevolca, has certified this Saturday, Christmas Day, the end of the volcanic eruption on La Palma, which began on 19 September, reported EL MUNDO.
Featured photo of December 22, of Las Manchas village by EL MUNDO
“The eruption has ended,” announced the spokesman for the Canary Islands government, Julio Pérez, who said that the scientific committee considers the last day of the eruption to be Monday 13 December, the date on which the tremor signal stopped and all the volcano’s parameters declined.
But the experts will not consider the emergency to be over for the time being and will continue to monitor the volcano’s evolution. The spokesman for the steering committee of the Special Plan for Civil Protection and Emergency Attention due to Volcanic Risk in the Canary Islands (Pevolca), Miguel Ángel Morcuende, stressed on Friday that although the eruption has ceased, the outgassing of the lava flows and the volcanic edifice is still continuing.
Pevolca will also remain active while the rehabilitation of essential services is being carried out.
Steering committee meetings, which have been held daily since 13 September, are likely to be “more spaced out”, subject to further developments.
The presence of gases in the evacuated areas of the volcano is one of the concerns and Morcuende has once again asked all those who come to clean their houses or collect objects to remain very attentive because there may be poisonous gases in the interior of the houses, which are heavier than air and cannot be perceived.
The advice is that you should always be accompanied, ventilate the dwellings at least fifteen minutes before entering and do not enter places below ground level, such as cellars, car parks or basements.
Morcuende explained that the most important thing to note in the last few hours about the activity at the volcano is that there are still very hot areas at a shallow depth below the solidified crust of the lava flows. Thermal cameras have shown temperatures of more than 180 degrees Celsius.
LOW SULPHUR DIOXIDE LEVELS
The scientific spokesperson of the Pevolca committee, María José Blanco, corroborated that for another day there were no observable signs on the surface and no remarkable measurements, so everything points to the volcanic eruption being exhausted.
On 19 December, a ground elevation of eight centimetres was detected at the station closest to the eruption centres, but today it has been verified that it has completely reversed and that there is no deformation at the rest of the stations.
Gas emissions are sporadic and sporadic in the area of the eruptive cones and in the jameos, but sulphur dioxide measurements remain at low levels.
In addition, air quality levels in the inhabited areas of the Aridane Valley have not exceeded the hourly and daily alert thresholds for several days now.
For 11 days the sulphur dioxide levels have not been exceeded and for seven days the levels for particulate matter below ten microns have not been exceeded.
There are 560 people staying in the three hotels provided by the Government of the Canary Islands to accommodate the evacuees, and there are another 43 dependents in the social and health centres of the Cabildo de La Palma.
Source: EL MUNDO
