The state TV broadcaster RTVE reported that there had been no more explosions to be heard since Monday evening and hardly any lava had escaped. In addition, hardly any vibrations were registered in the interior of the earth. Only sulfur dioxide emissions are still high. Air traffic, which was temporarily interrupted on Tuesday, resumed in the afternoon.
Experts continued to advise caution in view of the growing hope of an end to the volcanic eruption, which has been ongoing for more than three months. The volcanologist Rubén López emphasized that the low activity does not necessarily mean that the volcano is about to end. Such periods of rest have already existed repeatedly, even if not as long as this, he told RTVE. On Monday there had been violent explosions into the evening hours and large amounts of gas and lava had been expelled.
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Since the eruption began on September 19, the lava, which is more than 1,000 degrees Celsius, has destroyed almost 2,900 homes and other structures. Almost 1,200 hectares were covered with a meter-thick layer of lava. That corresponds to almost 1,700 soccer fields. More than 7,000 residents had to be brought to safety, the damage is estimated at more than 900 million euros. In front of the coast, the cooled lava created two new headlands with a total size of around 50 hectares.
Source: Nachrichten
