Lava from volcano destroys homes on Spain's La Palma island

LA PALMA, Spain – Authorities evacuated about 5,000 people from villages on the Spanish Canary island of La Palma as lava erupts from an erupting volcano, local officials said.

The 15-meter-high lava flow has already engulfed 20 homes in El Paso village and sections of streets, Mayor Sergio Rodriguez told radio station TVE on Monday morning.

It is now spreading to the nearby village of Los Llanos de Aridane, where hundreds of homes are at risk, he said.

“We are monitoring the trajectory of the lava,” Rodriguez said.

Since the eruption on Sunday afternoon, the volcano has erupted lava hundreds of meters into the air and spilled streams of molten rock towards the Atlantic Ocean on a sparsely populated area of ​​La Palma, the archipelago’s most northwestern island. of the Canary Islands.

Local authorities have evacuated some 5,000 people from four villages, including El Paso and Los Llanos de Aridane, and more evacuations are unlikely to be needed, Canary Islands regional president Angel Victor Torres said Monday morning.

“The lava is moving towards the coast and the damage will be material. According to experts, there are about 17-20 million cubic meters of lava, “he said.

No deaths have been reported and none are likely to happen as long as no one behaves recklessly, volcanologist Nemesio Perez said Monday.

La Palma was on high alert after more than 22,000 tremors were reported within a week in Cumbre Vieja, which belongs to a chain of volcanoes that had a last major eruption in 1971 and is one of the most active volcanic regions. of canaries.

In 1971, a man was killed while taking photographs near the lava flows, but no property was damaged.

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez arrived on La Palma on Sunday evening for talks with the government of the islands on the management of the eruption.

“We have all the resources and all the troops, the citizens can rest easy,” he said.