Spanish island residents warned to stay indoors as lava from volcano finally hits the sea
CBSN
Los Llanos de Aridane, Canary Islands — Lava from a volcano on Spain's Canary Islands has reached the sea after 10 days of wiping out hundreds of homes and causing the evacuation of thousands of residents. Columns of steam that experts had warned could contain toxic gases shot upward when the bright red molten rock tumbled into the Atlantic Ocean at 11 p.m. on Tuesday.
The area had been evacuated for several days as authorities waited for the lava to reach the water. Its erratic flows and changes in the terrain had slowed its progress. Authorities established a security perimeter of about 2 miles and asked residents in the wider area to remain indoors with windows shut to avoid breathing in gases.
Lava flows from the September 19 eruption of La Palma's Cumbre Vieja volcano have destroyed at least 589 buildings, mostly homes on the island's southwestern side that were caught on a slope below the volcano.
