4 weeks on, no sign Spanish volcano eruption is close to end

MADRID — There is nary motion that a volcanic eruption connected the Spanish land of La Palma is coming to an end, 4 weeks aft it began, officials said Sunday.

The volcano connected 1 of the Canary Islands disconnected northwest Africa has truthful acold destroyed much than 1,800 buildings, mostly homes, though punctual evacuations person helped debar casualties connected the land of immoderate 85,000 people.

Canary Islands President Ángel Víctor Torres said scientists monitoring the eruption that began Sept. 19 person seen nary indications that the eruption is abating, arsenic rivers of lava proceed flowing dilatory toward the sea.

“We are astatine the mercy of the volcano,” Torres told reporters. “It’s the lone 1 who tin determine erstwhile this ends.”

Some 7,000 radical person had to permission their homes.

The volcano has produced a changeless rumble and roar, with dozens of insignificant earthquakes astir days, and has covered a wide country with volcanic ash. The ash plume is respective kilometers (miles) high.

Airlines person sporadically canceled flights to the islands, including 56 flights implicit Saturday and Sunday, owed to the ash.

The latest outer imagery showed the molten stone has covered 754 hectares (almost 1,900 acres), astir of it countryside and workplace land.

Almost 60 kilometers (37 miles) of roads person besides been ruined.

The land lives chiefly from tourism and banana plantations. The authorities has pledged millions of euros (dollars) to assistance rebuild damaged infrastructure.