Spanish Volcano Forces More Than 30,000 People To Shelter in Their Homes Due to Threat of Toxic Fumes

(Photo : PIERRE-PHILIPPE MARCOU/AFP via Getty Images)
TOPSHOT - The Cumbre Vieja volcano, pictured from El Paso, spews lava on the Canary island of La Palma, Spain on December 13, 2021. - The Cumbre Vieja volcano has been erupting since September 19, forcing more than 6,000 people out of their homes as the lava burnt its way across huge swathes of land on the western side of La Palma.

Spanish residents are struggling amid the volcanic eruption in the country's Canary Islands that has lasted for 85 days and shows no signs of stopping as it continues to become the island of La Palma's longest eruption on record on Sunday.

The volcano first started spewing lava on Sept. 19 and has since destroyed nearly 3,000 local buildings. The threat of the volcano has also forced authorities to urge residents near the area to abandon their homes in fear of their safety.

Long-Running Volcanic Eruption

The Cumbre Vieja volcano had several days of low-level activity until Sunday where it suddenly started to come back to life once again. At the time, the volcano started making loud explosions and blowing a vast cloud of ash high into the sky over the region.

Several scientists said that volcanic eruptions are unpredictable and Spanish experts initially anticipated that the La Palma eruption could last up to three months. The island's senior government official, Mariano Hernandez, has described the volcano as "stable" in the last few days, Komo News reported.

Recently, Spanish authorities have ordered more than 30,000 residents to shelter in their homes after the volcano spewed toxic fumes. The Canary Islands regional government ordered people in three municipalities to lockdown inside their homes after the discovery of high levels of sulfur dioxide in the air.

The government's warning said that residents should close their doors, windows, shutters, and prevent any outside air from coming indoors. Authorities added that people in the area should confine themselves, if possible, in the rooms that are located furthest inside their houses.

Additionally, local officials told residents to turn their air conditioning and heating systems off for the time being and seal off their doors and windows using tape. Authorities said that if people found themselves going outside, they should be aware that a car is not a safe place to shut themselves in and to locate the nearest building to take shelter in, The Hill reported.

Widespread Damage

The affected people numbered more than 30,000 across three municipalities equating to about 38% of the island's population, based on data from the national statistics institute INE. Authorities have also evacuated more than 7,000 residents from their homes since the start of the horrific volcanic eruption.

Despite the massive damage caused by the volcanic eruption across the region, authorities have not reported any casualties. Officials recorded this disaster as the longest eruption in history while also being the third to occur within the last century, the first two happening in 1949 and 1971 respectively, CBS News reported.

Hernandez said that he ordered experts to continue their measure of the number and magnitude of earthquakes in the area as well as the levels of sulfur dioxide in local areas. Officials recorded 24 tremors from Saturday to Sunday, none of which were felt by local residents.

The majority of the affected region that has been covered by rivers of lava and molten rock is farmland. Amid the catastrophic phenomenon, life has continued unhindered in most areas across La Palma.