Spain’s King Felipe showed his ongoing concern for victims of the 2021 La Palma volcano eruption by making a fleeting visit to the island immediately before his participation in the country’s Armed Forces Day events in the Canaries.
Accompanied by Queen Letizia, the king dashed across to La Palma late on Friday evening after flying earlier in the day from Barcelona to Las Palmas for the military commemoration. The monarchs left immediately afterwards for Tenerife to preside over the main Forces Day parade in Santa Cruz on Saturday.
The royal couple have made three trips to the island since September 2021, the first trip coming just four days after the Tajogaite volcano erupted on the Cumbre Vieja volcanic ridge and buried surrounding parts in lava, forcing thousands to be evacuated from their homes.
The eruption, the first on La Palma since 1971, lasted almost three months (September to December 2021) and caused an estimated 850 million euros in damage, including many homes.
The objective of this latest trip, which lasted just over an hour, was to see first-hand the reconstruction work being carried out in the affected areas to return them to as near normal as possible.
Before meeting with local residents, Felipe and Letizia – accompanied by La Palma’s president Sergio Rodríguez – stopped at the Lomo del Piojo viewpoint for a panoramic view of the scale of the lava flows that followed the eruption and covered almost 1000 hectares (2500 acres).
Among the locals they met was Emilio Viña, whose house in Todoque was completely destroyed and who has had to turn a wine cellar into a temporary dwelling.
Photo of King and Queen with Felipe Viña: credit, Casa Real
