Canary Islands travel bosses send message to tourists after ’emergency plan’ activated | World | News
Tourists and local residents on one of the prettiest islands in the Canaries have been urged not to panic, amid growing fears of a volcanic eruption.
A concentration of gases in a volcano on La Palma has forced local authorities to activate its emergency protocol.
But the island’s Emergency Minister assured the public that these were “completely normal processes”.
Island leaders were also at pains to stress that no new eruption was imminent, after false rumours appeared on social media suggesting otherwise.
The local government implemented its emergency protocol after detecting occasional peaks in the concentration of gases in Puerto Naos.
Darwin Rodríguez, the Minister of Emergencies, said the established safety protocols were being followed to the letter to ensure the protection of residents, stressing that the area is “the most monitored place in the world”.
Some 1,156 meters have been installed indoors and another 194 in public spaces to monitor air quality.
The devices facilitate safe access to homes as long as the concentration of gases does not exceed 700 ppm (parts per million).
“Despite the increase in measurements, it has not been necessary to evacuate residents from the affected areas,” the local government said.
“The situation has been controlled by ventilating the spaces, and the concentrations of gases observed do not pose a risk to the population.”
Three years ago a massive eruption of the Cumbre Vieja volcano caused an estimated €843 million (£720m) in damage.
The eruption began on September 19 and ended on December 13, following 85 days and eight hours of volcanic activity.
It was the longest ever eruption on the island. More than 7,000 people had to be evacuated as La Palma was hit by 9,000 earthquakes, the strongest of which measured 5.1 on the Richter scale.
More than 1,676 properties were swallowed up and banana, vineyards and avocado plantations destroyed by the lava rivers which eventually reached the sea, creating a new inlet.
The eruption also covered large parts of the island in black soot and even reached other Canary islands, including Tenerife.
