Spain has officially ended the eruption of the 3-month-old La Palma volcano News

The announcement came after a 10-day silence on the Cumbre Vieja volcano on the devastated Spanish Canary Island.

Scientists have claimed a long month volcanic eruption La Palma has officially ended on the Spanish island of La Palma, allowing the islands to breathe easy.

The announcement on Saturday was made after the Cumbre Vieja volcano began to shed lava, rocks and ash and ruined the lives of thousands of people and nearly 100 days had passed.

After launching on September 19, the volcano suddenly fell silent on December 13th.

But authorities in the northwestern island of the Spanish Canary Islands archipelago, keen to raise false hopes, held on to it until Christmas Day to make it clear that the longest eruption in La Palma was over.

“What I mean today can be said in four words: the eruption is over,” Canary Islands regional security chief Julio Perez told a news conference on Saturday.

During the eruption, molten rock flows into the sea destroy thousands of buildings were buried in banana plantations that take up nearly half of the island’s economy, damaged by irrigation systems, cut off roads and forced to evacuate many. But despite the widespread damage, no one was killed and no one was directly injured in the eruption.

Maria Jose Blanco, director of the National Geographic Institute of the Canary Islands, said that all the indicators suggest that the eruption has run out of energy but does not rule out future reactivation.

‘I don’t trust this beast’

A total of about 3,000 properties were destroyed by lava, which now covers 1,219 acres (3,012 acres) – the equivalent of about 1,500 football pitches – according to a recent count by local emergency services.

Meanwhile, of the 7,000 people evacuated, most have returned home but many of the houses still standing are uninhabitable due to ash damage. As many roads are blocked, some plantations are now only accessible by sea.

German couple Jacqueline Rehm and Juergen Doelz were among those convicted evacuate, Fleeing from a rented house in the town of Todoque and going to their small sailboat for seven weeks.

“We couldn’t save anything, no furniture, no paintings, everything is under the lava now,” Rehm, 49, told Reuters, adding that they were going to nearby Tenerife after Christmas.

“I’m not sure it’s really over. I don’t trust this beast at all, ”he said.

‘Calmness and Hope’

The roaring volcano, which served as a constant reminder of the eruption, may have calmed down and the islands no longer need to wear umbrellas and goggles to protect themselves from the ashes, but a horrific clean-up operation is underway.

The government has pledged more than 400 million euros ($ 453 million) for reconstruction, but some residents and businesses have complained that the funds are slowing down.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez called the end of the eruption “the best Christmas present.”

“We will continue to work together, with all the institutions, to re-launch the beautiful island of La Palma and repair the damage,” he tweeted.

But Perez said there was no “joy or satisfaction” after the announcement, but “emotional relief and hope.”

“Now we can apply ourselves and focus entirely on reconstruction work,” he said, adding that the archipelago government estimated the loss of La Palma’s buildings and infrastructure at more than 900 million euros ($ 1 billion).