Firefighters try to deflect the lava’s path

In the Canary Islands, on the island of Palma (Spain), lava flows from the Cumbre Vieja volcano destroyed 320 buildings according to the latest estimates. Lava continues to slide towards the ocean. Contact with water may cause dangerous burrs and fumes.

The lava flow reached the village of Todoque in the Canary Islands (Spain) and took everything on its way, Wednesday, September 22. A villager testifies in front of France Télévisions cameras. In his house, there is only a concrete block trapped in volcanic rock. “It’s a disaster, there’s nothing we can do‘, he admits.

But the firefighters are trying something. And all night, with bulldozers and concrete walls, they tried to divert the lava to prevent it from reaching the sea, which would cause it to emit toxic gases. Now, the volcano is in the stage of a volcanic eruption. The flow is still two kilometers from the sea but the firefighters admit their helplessness. “It is difficult to turn lava. As the flow progresses, the height of the magma varies‘, explains a firefighter deployed on the site.