Eruption on Spain's La Palma island ends after 85 days

Damage from the volcanic eruption could exceed €900 million.

On December 25, the Canary Islands authorities officially announced the end of the eruption of the Cumbre Vieja volcano on the island of La Palma. It lasted 85 days. 

Julio Pérez
member of the Security Council and official representative of the Canary Islands

The eruption has ended. It ended on December 13, but only today can this be stated. When the scientific committee confirmed the presence of signs that give confidence: no lava, no pyroclastics, no significant gases, no significant earthquakes, no tremor, no significant deformations. The eruption lasted 85 days and 8 hours. 

Pérez said he feels relief after this confirmation. However, experts warn that activity in the island's depths continues. It will last for a long time, so local residents will have to get used to periodic earthquakes. 

Scientists confirmed the end of the eruption after ten consecutive days of confirming signs of the volcano's exhaustion, with low or insignificant seismicity and emission indicators. 

Stavros Meletlidis
geologist and volcanologist at the National Geographic Institute

We don't like to say that everything is over. The Canary Islands' Volcanic Emergency Plan sets a 10-day waiting period. I proposed that there be more. In any case, that is a small figure: the eruption may have ended, but the volcanic process will last for a long time. 

No one was injured or killed as a result of the eruption, which began on September 19. However, the volcano destroyed 1,345 homes, mainly in the west of La Palma, as well as schools, churches, health centers and farm irrigation infrastructure. 

Lava covered 1,250 hectares of land on its way to the Atlantic Ocean, but created a new peninsula of 40 hectares. These were mainly banana plantations, which, together with tourism, are the island's main source of livelihood. 

The eruption was accompanied by frequent earthquakes. It was the first on La Palma since 1971 and the longest eruption in the island's history, where 83,000 people live. 

About 7,000 people were evacuated from their homes, and many were given only a few minutes to collect their belongings. In mid-December the volcano gradually began to calm down, so some of the evacuated residents were allowed to return to their homes. 

Regional officials say damage from the volcanic eruption could exceed €900 million. 

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, who visited La Palma several times during the eruption, promised to rebuild the island after the natural disaster.