The La Palma volcano captured the world’s attention in 2021: the lava left destruction and chaos

(CNN Spanish) – The Cumbre Vieja volcano on La Palma has made a continuous eruption since September 2021 and although in December it seems to have subsided, since it began it has left thousands of people displaced, has destroyed hundreds of hectares and has buried the surrounding places with ash, converting some places in great deserts.

These are the most shocking images after the September eruption:

La Palma volcano continues to wreak havoc

New lava flows from the Cumbre Vieja volcano caused molten lava to flow downhill at speeds of up to 1 meter per second in early December, according to the Canary Islands Institute of Volcanology.

On the west side of the island off the coast of Africa, lava continued to threaten remaining buildings in the city of La Laguna, which was evacuated more than a month ago.

This house is almost buried by ashes on La Palma.

The town’s church is now just one kilometer from the widest lava flow, moving toward the Atlantic Ocean, according to a map released Tuesday by the Canary Islands government’s volcano crisis committee.

The eruptions began on September 19 and have not stopped since.

Lava reached the Atlantic in two places on the island’s west coast, falling off cliffs into the ocean and then adding to the coast with a total of 48 hectares of lava spillway, the committee said.

Rivers of lava wash away rocks on La Palma.

The ravages of the La Palma Volcano

But it has erased much more. The lava has destroyed 1,134 hectares, a third of which is farmland. The flow has eaten away banana and avocado plantations vital to the island’s economy.

It has also destroyed more than 1,200 homes and 300 other buildings, the committee said.

More than 6,000 people have been displaced on the island with a population of around 80,000.

La Palma is one of the smallest Canary Islands in Spain, located off the west coast of Morocco.

Videos show rivers of lava and destruction

The lava flows from the Cumbre Vieja volcano continue to glow. These are new images that a cadron managed to capture.

In addition, authorities reported this week that the volcano has a new mouth or crater. And that it has expelled so much lava that specialists have called it a ‘lava tsunami’

A thermographic camera recorded in detail the eruptions of the volcano on La Palma and left these images captured on a night reconnaissance flight. The Canary Islands Volcanological Institute managed to determine that the eruptive process is in an effusive phase.

The La Palma volcano melted mountains in its wake. From another angle, the magnitude of the volcanic activity is observed: the postcard gives the impression that they are mountains that are melting.

The interior of the lava bomb that released the Cumbre Vieja volcano – active since September 19, 2021 – is a rock melted by the high temperatures of the eruption, which then solidifies again when descending the slopes. Lava bombs are formed by the expulsion of large fragments during this type of phenomenon and are thus classified by exceeding a diameter of 64 millimeters.