The La Palma volcano is erupting even more aggressively

(CNN) – The Cumbre Vieja volcano on the Spanish island of La Palma is now erupting even more aggressively after weeks of spewing lava jets, Spain’s National Geographic Institute (IGN) said on Sunday.

Volcano activity “remains intense” and a new crater was discovered on Saturday, the Canary Islands government and IGN said in a joint statement.

“It does not seem that it is close to finishing yet, due to the millions of cubic meters of lava that the volcano spews,” the president of the Canary Islands community, Ángel Víctor Torres, said at a press conference on Sunday.

More than 1,000 homes have been destroyed since the volcano first erupted, according to the IGN. Previous emissions from the volcano also sent clouds of steam, smoke and toxic gases into the sky, forcing residents to lock themselves away.

In a positive sign, the technical director of the Canary Islands volcanic emergency response committee, Miguel Ángel Morcuende, said on Saturday that air quality had improved enough to lift local stay-at-home measures.

To secure water for the south of the island, new desalination plants will replace an irrigation link damaged by the volcano, Torres said.

“We recognize the anguish, but it is teaching us a lesson. Because when you approach someone who has lost everything, he is always ready to face the situation. He does not give up,” Torres said.

The president of the government of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, has promised more than US $ 238 million (206 million euros) in aid to the island.

“Next Tuesday, the cabinet will approve a very forceful series of measures regarding the reconstruction of infrastructure, responding to the problem of water supply, also employment, agriculture, the tourism sector and tax benefits,” said Sánchez on Sunday.