“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,” the regional president of the Canary Islands, Angel Victor Torres, said on Monday.
La Palma and the surrounding area have been on alert for the past week, after more than 22,000 tremors were detected in the Cumbre Vieja National Park, one of the most active volcanic regions in the Canary Islands.
Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sanchez, has arrived on the island to help support the local government’s response to the eruption, pledging to provide “all the resources and all the troops” necessary, so “citizens can rest easy.”
Meanwhile, Spain’s Tourism Minister Reyes Maroto announced today that the Canary Islands “are safe to visit” and a volcano eruption there is a “wonderful show”.
“The island is open,” Maroto told Canal Sur radio, calling the eruption “a wonderful show,” just hours after 5,000 people, including hundreds of tourists, had to be evacuated.
“There are no restrictions on going to the island … on the contrary, we’re passing on the information so tourists know they can travel to the island and enjoy something unusual, see it for themselves,” Maroto said.
