18 Dec La Palma Reconstruction – November 2024
La Palma’s Reconstruction: November 2024 Update
News roundup from across La Palma regarding science occurring in La Palma, reconstruction efforts, aid provided to residents and industries, and other relevant news. Sources: La Palma Ahora, Cabildo de La Palma, El Time, ABC España, El Valle de Aridane, El Dia, Mirame, Planeta Canario, Canarias 7, El Diario, National Geographic
Reconstruction
- Demands for new housing for those affected – The PP party has demanded that the 42 new homes at Finca Amado II, in Breña Baja, be handed over to people affected by the volcano as soon as possible. The housing was finished in October yet the houses still remain empty at the end of November.
- Homelessness on La Palma increases – Charity Caritas has reported that the issues of social inclusion and homelessness has clearly increased since the Tajogaite eruption in 2021, and claims that this is due to a lack of social housing on the island and the lack of response from the authorities to help this.
- “Reconstruction could reverse depopulation on La Palma” – In a discussion about the reconstruction on La Palma lead by Héctor Izquierdo, the special commissioner on reconstruction, he highlighted a future vision in which reconstruction and investment tourism and geothermal energy could help to reverse the depopulation trend in parts of La Palma, and lessen the dependency of the island’s economy on agricultural subsidies.
- Rising housing costs – Housing costs in the Aridane Valley are now at an all time high, with a large increase of €860 per square metre since before the eruption. The price per square metre has risen from ~€1400 before the eruption to ~€2300 current.
- Las Manchas Cemetary – Recovery of the Las Manchas Cemetary, which was partially destroyed by lava flows, has commenced with the first phase of removing superficial lava from the grounds around it.
- Canary Islands Government grant more road recovery aid – The Government of the Canary Islands has granted €1.75 million to La Palma, intended to finance the recovery of the LP-213 and LP-215 roads, in Puerto Naos-El Remo and Tazacorte, respectively.
Aid
- Aid for expropriation – The Platform for People Affected by the Coastal Highway has announced it is in the process of finding a solution with public representatives for increased financial compensation for those expropriated for the Coastal Highway. This follows previous reports that indicated those affected by the Coastal Highway may be expropriated at €20 per square metre offered by the state, much less than the €44 per square metre offered by the Cabildo de La Palma for houses buried under lava.
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La Palma offers financial aid to those affected by the volcano in Puerto Naos and La Bombilla (Diario de La Palma, 2024)
Aid for household goods damage – Residents of Puerto Naos and La Bombilla are eligible for a new round of aid up to €2,000 for damage to household goods in homes that they own.
- Spanish president on aid – The Spanish President Pedro Sánchez has addressed the commitments of the Government of Spain in regards to the recovery of La Palma, saying that the Government has “transferred or executed 99% of the 1,046 million euros in aid or investments that it announced on the island of La Palma [Translated from original quote]”. He claimed that any aid not reaching citizens directly yet is in the hands of other administrations such as the Canary Islands Government and the Cabildo de La Palma.
- Business owner aid – The Government of the Canary Islands has approved €1.7 million worth of aid to business owners in Puerto Naos and La Bombilla who have lost business due to the impacts of the 2021 Tajogaite eruption.
- 2025 regional budget – The regional budget for 2025 from the Government of the Canary Islands will include €230 million for La Palma, including the already agreed €50 million annually ring-fenced for reconstruction. Specific items include increased funds for the office for assistance to victims, and €11.4 million towards the reconstruction of the LP-2 road.
Science
- GESPLAN Studies forests on La Palma – GESPLAN has awarded a contract to Fundación Canaria Universitaria de Las Palmas to study the effects of the volcanic eruption on forest cover on La Palma, using high-resolution satellites and drones, at different points across the island.
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The Cabildo obtains the rights to exploit geothermal energy in the areas of greatest scientific interest in La Palma (El Diario, 2024)
GeoThermal exploration awarded funding – €48 million has been allocated by the Canary Islands Government to develop geothermal exploration sites on the southern half of La Palma, up to a depth of 2,000 meters below the surface. This follows on from the allocation of permits for this exploration to a range of companies in October.
- Puerto Naos and La Bombilla:
- Access has been authorised to 21 new homes in Puerto Naos, taking the total with permission to reside to almost 900 between Puerto Naos and La Bombilla.
- The pharmacy has now been allowed to reopen in Puerto Naos, meaning there are now 14 commercial and tourist businesses operating in the town.
- An RTVC interview with a Puerto Naos resident however highlights that difficulties still persist – the resident can still only visit the house to air it out, and that CO2 concentrations of >50,000 ppm can still be recorded there.
- Uses for ash from the eruption – La Palma is working on two projects to manage the large quantities of volcanic ash on the island and make use of them. Firstly, it aims to sell the ash as fertiliser to international markets, mixed in with soil. Secondly, it plans to sell the ash to construction companies as a construction material, in exchange for building housing on the island, where there is currently a lack of supply of builders. Studies suggest this could raise at least €80 million for La Palma.
- INVOLCAN Conference in Los Llanos – INVOLCAN will host a conference on volcanic risk management on the 3rd and 4th December in Los Llanos de Aridane. The conference will be open to people within the security and emergency sectors, as well as members of the public.
Other updates
Genesis project: El agua y yo competition announced GeoTenerife attended the Canarian Science Week event in Villa de Mazo to discuss the importance of the Hydrogeological system alongside key members of La Palma’s scientific community. At this event, GeoTenerife introduced the ‘El Agua y yo competition’. Any school-age person in La Palma can submit a one-minute video about how water impacts their lives.- Lava Bombs 2: Film Showing – GeoTenerife’s documentary about the recovery from the 2021 Tajogaite Eruption has been shown at the School of Earth Sciences in the University of Bristol, UK, which is known for its volcanology research group.
- ‘Salvados’ programme returns with controversy – The programme ‘Salvados’ on TV Channel La Sexta returned for the first time in 3 years with an episode aiming to document the recovery process on La Palma. However, the episode has been heavily criticised by groups representing those affected by the eruption, claiming that it whitewashes their difficulties and allowed unchallenged statements from authority figures that distorted the truth. The programme had already attracted controversy before airing as it was delayed by a week to allow the addition of more interview footage with Government representatives from La Palma. A comment by Mónica María Riverol Cruz, whose family was affected by the eruption, is available to read here.
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