“The particles were porous and able to retain water in the soil … they took advantage of it to plant vineyards,” said Galindo. In the nearby island of Lanzarote, a six-year eruption in 1730 left parts of the island covered in volcanic material. Photograph: Desiree Martin/AFP/Getty ImagesĪs researchers and officials scramble to figure out what could be done with the materials spewed out by the volcano, they’ve looked to history. Gladys Jeronimo, 65, cleans sand and ash from her home in the Las Manchas neighbourhood.
Once the lava cools – a process that could take months – it might be easier in some cases to build on top of it rather than breaking it up and removing it, she added. “They continue to store heat, with temperatures of more than 500 degrees in some parts,” said Inés Galindo, a geologist who heads the Canary Islands unit of Spain’s Geological and Mining Institute. While round-the-clock efforts to clear the ash have succeeded in stockpiling some of it in specific areas such as a former quarry on the island, removal of the red-hot flows of lava that sprawled into neighbourhoods and farmland has proved trickier. The lava and ash reached beyond the island lava cascading into the ocean during the eruptions created two new peninsulas, measuring 44 and five hectares, while underwater footage revealed marine life covered in ash. In parts of the island the ash buried homes, engulfed verdant plantations and accumulated in metres-high banks.
“You clear it away today, tomorrow the wind blows over a few more centimetres.” Many arrived to find layers of powdery ash coating their homes, patios and plants – remnants of the more than 200m cubic metres of lava and ash expelled by the volcano. In recent days about 2,000 of the 7,000 evacuated residents have been allowed to return home. Photograph: Desiree Martin/AFP/Getty Images A car covered in ashes in the Las Manchas neighbourhood.
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