MADRID (Sputnik) – The government of the Canary island of La Palma, where a volcanic eruption is ongoing, said on Tuesday that it has lifted the quarantine of the population in a number of settlements, imposed due to the likelihood of deteriorating air quality.
“The improved air quality following the dissipation of smoke from industrial premises in the Callejon de la Gata industrial zone allows the restrictions in the areas El Paso and Los Llanos to be lifted from now on”, the island’s government said in a statement.
On Monday, La Palma’s authorities instructed residents of El Paso and Los Llanos municipalities to stay at home due to lava having reached and covered an industrial zone accommodating a cement plant. The authorities feared that this could negatively affect air quality.
The Cumbre Vieja volcano began erupting on 19 September. On the night of 29 September, lava reached the ocean and formed a ledge, having covered an area of almost 600 hectares, at its widest point reaching one mile. Almost 1,300 buildings were damaged and another 1,186 were completely destroyed, and more than 6,000 local residents were evacuated.
Volcanologists estimate from 40 to 60 million cubic meters of magma to have already erupted, while seismologists have registered 35,000 earthquakes in the area over the past month.
