So much fear porn about the La Palma volcano! The Cumbre Vieja eruption has got to be the most photographed and videoed volcano in history, which is a good thing, but the number of uninformed and/or unstable people reacting with their hair on fire over it is not good.
Another good thing is the remarkable way the Canarian people are coping with this. Evacuations have been calm and orderly. Yes, sadly, very many homes and livelihoods have been lost, but so far not one life! And I have never heard of such solidarity and mutual helpfulness within a sizable group of people, either.
Can you imagine if this were happening somewhere in the CONUS? I do not think we would handle it nearly as well. Besides the road rage and people getting in each other’s way to try and protect their own “stuff”, there’d be the usual idiots wanting to take selfies in front of molten lava (and why am I picturing LooterGuy nearby, with his load of Heinekens?)
Watch La Palma resident Bushcraft Bear’s great daily on-the-scene reporting here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZB7zNCIi3F6uWCJZa-qdVQ/videos
The people of La Palma are courageous and resilient, and will get through this. After all, they live on a beautiful island that wouldn’t even exist in the first place if it weren’t for volcanic activity. They know what to do.
Eh.
I live in MA but I’m 1,100 feet above sea level. If the worst happens I’ll be just fine.
-SB
I’ve been watching / listening to the La Palma volcano. Fascinating. When one hears a dog barking or a cock crowing, it like normal daily life goes on, there’s just a great big fire in the background, that’s all!
I looked up La Palma and saw that it has had many eruptions, one lasted for more than 80 days.
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M6.4 Earthquake - Crete, Greece