The announcement comes 10 days after the Cumbre Vieja volcano on the devastated Spanish Canary Island.
Scientists have announced that it is several months away volcanic eruptions on the Spanish Canary island of La Palma officially closed, allowing the islanders to breathe fresh air.
Saturday’s announcement was made almost 100 days after the Cumbre Vieja volcano erupted, spewing lava, rocks, and ashes and lifting thousands of lives.
After taking action on September 19, the mountain fell silent on December 13.
But officials on the northwest island of the Canary Islands in Spain, fearing to bring false hopes, stood up until Christmas Day to predict the worst eruption of La Palma.
“What I want to say today can be summed up in just four words: The explosion is over,” Canary Islands defense chief Julio Perez told a news conference on Saturday.
During the eruption, a molten rock flowed into the sea destruction Hundreds of houses, banana plantations, which make up about half of the island’s wealth, destroyed irrigation systems, cut roads, and forced many to evacuate. But despite the extensive damage, no lives were lost and no injuries were directly related to the blast.
Maria Jose Blanco, director of the National Geographic Institute on the Canaries, said all indications were that the explosion had no effect but did not say it would start again.
‘I do not believe in this beast’
Nearly 3,000 homes were destroyed by the 1,219-hectare (3,012 acres) – the equivalent of about 1,500 football fields – according to an emergency.
So far, of the 7,000 people displaced, most have returned to their homes but most of the houses that were erected do not live in them due to ash damage. With many roads closed, some fields are now accessible by sea.
A German couple, Jacqueline Rehm and Juergen Doelz, were among those forced to flee escape, fled their rented house in the village of Todoque and moved in their small canoe for seven weeks.
“We couldn’t save anything, no chairs, no paintings, it’s all under the lava now,” Rehm, 49, told Reuters, adding he had moved to Tenerife near Christmas.
“I am not sure if it is over. I don’t even believe in the beast, ”he said.
‘Rest and hope’
The sound of the lava, which was a constant reminder of the eruption, must have ceased and the islanders no longer had to carry umbrellas and protective glasses to the ashes, but the great cleansing work was just beginning.
The government has promised more than 400 million euros ($ 453m) to rebuild but some business owners have complained that funding is delayed.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez called the explosion “a wonderful Christmas gift”.
“We will continue to work together, all organizations, to rebuild the wonderful island of La Palma and repair what has been damaged,” he tweeted.
But Perez said there was no “joy or satisfaction” following the announcement, just a feeling of “relief and hope”.
“Because now, we can dedicate ourselves and focus on rebuilding,” he said, adding that the island government saw the loss of housing and construction in La Palma at a cost of more than 900 million euros ($ 1bn).
