La Palma Reconstruction Updates

1,296 farmers forced to return €3.5 million in aid: €3.5 million in aid for loss on income to farmers is going to be returned, because it is understood that mismanagement by the previous institution of the funds lead to many some receiving more aid than they were shown to have lost. This is because these payments had been made based on estimates of damage, rather than definitive data that were available later. The government presents the territorial and urban planning decree:  Summary: This decree, which has been worked on since the eruption ended, has been presented to the affected platforms and neighbourhood associations. This decree will also be followed by a new agricultural decree, and two more decrees on housing and economic development, which will provide the legal framework for reconstruction of the island going forward. Puerto Naos and La Bombilla: Another company has been hired to investigate the origin and situation of the gases, and the island President is hoping to fix a date to move forward.

€100 million for reconstruction: At a meeting in Madrid, the President of the Canary Islands has again pressed the Spanish Government over the delay in the execution of the €100 million in aid included in this year’s state budget for the reconstruction of La Palma. The President has received a commitment to do this from the finance minister of the Spanish Government. The latest figures show that 65 people affected by the volcano remain housed in hotels, almost two years since the eruption ended. The Palmera Ecologist Platform has denounced the use of emergency declarations for many projects relating to post-volcano recovery to skip essential stages of the environmental impact assessment process. The gradual return of residents to some parts of La Bombilla and Puerto Naos, evacuated due to high diffuse CO2 emissions, has been delayed a few days as necessary gas meters are still detained in customs and have not arrived.

Transcripts of PEVOLCA meetings denied: For transparency around the decisions to keep the volcano on yellow alert prior to the eruption, citizens had requested transcripts from PEVOLCA meetings around this time, although this request has been rejected. 95% of the pine trees close to the cone did not survive: Research by CSIC has shown that the pine trees closest to the crater, which may have looked like they were going to survive the eruption, have died. However, they also say that this is part of the normal rhythm of this ecosystem, although it could take decades to fully recover. However, the recovery of ecosystems further away from the cone has been shown to be much stronger and quicker. Reopening timescales for Puerto Naos – The Commissioner for the Reconstruction of La Palma, Héctor Izquierdo, has said the southern half of Puerto Naos beach, which is part of the zone still evacuated due to high diffuse CO2 emissions, could open in ‘a reasonable time’ if the gas measurements are safe. They have agreed on an action plan which hopes to use innovative solutions to ensure a safe return when possible.

PEINPAL restructures: The Insular Emergency Plan of La Palma (PEINPAL), the committee which currently oversees the scientific management of the Volcanic (Level 1) Emergency, is undergoing restructuring. This is said to make it a more participatory forum with more operability and involves incorporating citizens and entities affected by the eruption, who before were not part of the committee. Cooling of the main cone: Thermal drone measurements by INVOLCAN have confirmed that incandescence can still be observed in places, with temperatures in these areas still above 500°C.

New field techniques investigated: A group of GeoIntern students from GeoTenerife under the leadership of Professor David Foster and postgrad student Danilo Cruz of the University of Florida have been testing a portable XRF on the flows of Tajogaite volcano to assess its potential for rapid use in the field to identify trace elements in the lava which could help scientists to acquire reliable data on eruption evolution.

An international science team including GeoTenerife have conducted research into the building damage from the lava flows on La Palma. They aim to compare the damage to that estimated by the widely-shared Copernicus damage assessment maps, and also look for links between the lava flow dynamics and the damage seen.

The return of 7 families to the Los Lajones neighbourhood in Puerto Naos has been authorised by the government, with systems including PA systems and phone alert systems put in place in case the gas levels reach dangerous levels. Elsewhere, some platforms of affected people have protested and produced a report arguing for the return of all residents and the reducing of the Volcanic Traffic Light Alert System from Yellow to Green.

€750,000 have been allocated towards the creation of a 24-hour control centre to monitor diffuse CO2 emissions in La Bombilla and Puerto Naos. This will compliment the network of gas meters in these towns, as well as other projects such as the forced ventilation to reduce CO2 levels and automated mapping of the gas levels.

In Puerto Naos, work has began to investigate the success of forced ventilation of underground garages, which suffer from the highest CO2 concentrations of the whole area, and particularly concentrate the gas. This is one of many measures to try and quicken the return of residents to the area, should be gas concentrations reduce sufficiently.

The gas levels in La Bombilla and Puerto Naos continue to show little sign of improvements, with gas monitors belonging to INVOLCAN exceeding 50,000 ppm of CO2 daily inside buildings in some areas. Further meetings are taking place to attempt to determine a pathway for improved access to the area, and plans are underway to restore water to La Bombilla and Puerto Naos.

The CO2 levels continue to be very high in La Bombilla and Puerto Naos, still preventing the return of residents, with levels of over 50,000 ppm still being regularly recorded. The ongoing situation has led to some unrest among the affected residents, with gas monitoring equipment being vandalised on multiple occasions in the affected areas.

Science: The Cabildo de La Palma and the scientific committee have finally started sharing live gas measurements for La Bombilla and Puerto Naos, offering some transparency for those still affected who were unsure about the gas levels. A map can be viewed here: https://volcan.lapalma.es/pages/calidad-del-aire.

Among research outputs related to the eruption in the last month was an ecological and evolutionary investigation by PhD student María Guerrero and colleagues at the University of Malaga during the eruption. One conclusion was that for the first time, a link between the ‘woodiness’ of a plant has been linked to resilience to volcanic eruptions, as they found woody plants survived whereas many more herbaceous plants could not tolerate the conditions of the eruption.

Work has begun to on the La Laguna – Las Norias road across the lava flow field to install streetlights, allowing the road to be open 24 hours a day. Previously the road, which sees 5,500 crossings per day, was only open from 6am-10pm, which prevented the ability of some people to work or return to their homes if their work was on the other side of the lava flows, according to president of the Las Manchas Resident’s Association Jenny Sanchez.

High CO2 levels persist in La Bombilla and Puerto Naos, preventing still the return of evacuated people. Work from INVOLCAN has concluded that the amount of CO2 per km2 is around 30 times higher than the average along the whole of the Cumbre Vieja ridge, although the levels in Puerto Naos are lower than those in La Bombilla.

This week, Fernández de la Puente, the deputy of Ciudadanos in the Parliament of the Canary Islands, has requested to the Minister for Finance for clarification for many families who have lost all their properties to the eruption do not know what will happen to the mortgages, charges, seizures or tax sanctions that existed on homes that no longer exist.

On Wednesday, the Cabildo de La Palma further reduced the exclusion zone around the volcano, and has mapped for the first time the restricted areas, where limited access is available for people such as scientists and irrigators. The restricted areas include parts of La Bombilla and Puerto Noas and also areas isolated by the lava flows between Montaña Todoque and Montaña La Laguna.

A comprehensive summary of the aid spending so far in La Palma has been published by El Time, indicating that €457 million has been delivered to those affected by the volcano. €205.6 million of this is reported to have been spent on housing and accommodation, whilst other significant investments include €83 million to employment support, €61 million to the Employment and Training Plan (creating 1,600 jobs), and €62 million to affected businesses, including €14.63 million to the banana industry.

In the area of Las Hoyas, near where the lava flows famously flowed down the cliffs onto the lava delta formed by the 1949 eruption, more areas have been reopened for restricted use by farmers and irrigators to tend to crops in the area. 37 more fanegas (1 fanega = 1.59 acres) have been opened in addition to the 87 which have recently been opened.

For the first time since September, controlled access to Puerto Naos for some residents was allowed. This was supervised and residents had a maximum of 45 minutes in the area, only when gas concentrations were low enough. Both Puerto Naos and La Bombilla remain evacuated due to persistently high CO2 concentrations, due to CO2 from cooling magma escaping through fractures in the soil caused by the earthquakes associated with the eruption, according to IGN Scientist Stavros Metetlidis.