Lava continues to flow from a volcano on the Spanish island of La Palma for the fourth day in a row on Wednesday.
Drone images show that several lava flows are on their way to the coast. They destroy everything in their path, including a school. Authorities have evacuated about 6,000 of the island’s 83,000 people since Sunday.
There have been no known casualties from the eruption of the Cumbre Vieja, but there is a lot of material damage. At least 185 buildings would have been destroyed. Regional leader Angel Victor Torres expects the damage to amount to 400 million euros.
Experts warn of the consequences if the lava reaches the sea. This can lead to explosions and the release of toxic fumes. Therefore, the authorities have closed off part of the sea near the island to keep onlookers at a distance.
On Tuesday evening, the lava flow had a temperature of about 1000 degrees and was located about 2 kilometres from the coast. Then the lava was moving at a speed of about 200 meters per hour. It is still unclear when the sea will be reached because the speed can also change again.
There were also Dutch tourists on Canary Island at the time of the eruption. Dozens of those vacationers had to be evacuated as access roads to their hotel threatened to be blocked by the volcanic eruption.