Life on post-volcanic La Palma

Despite the eruption on La Palma having ceased over a month ago, life on the island remains impacted by immense ash piles and volcanic rock. We sent our reporter, Marco Kaschuba, to check out the situation.

Houses and in some cases entire villages are still covered by a layer of ash several feet thick. The lava has buried whole villages under itself and many areas are still closed with current counts suggesting more than 3,000 buildings were destroyed.

Workers are trying to remove the volcanic rock with excavators. clearing amounts of ash that have fallen is arduous, with some areas seeing ash layers feet thick.

More than 7,000 residents had been evacuated as the volcano came to life with one death attributed to the event. On December 13, the volcano suddenly fell silent, and on Christmas Day, the Pevolca Emergency Committee declared the eruption over.

While the lava flow has ended, noxious gases are still being emitted from the Cumbre Vieja volcano and are regularly monitored for safety.

Despite the significant damages on western La Palma, much of the island was not impacted. As the long cleaning process continues, life on Canary Island is slowly returning to normal.