Spurts of hot lava and a cloud of toxic gas gushed into the sky on Thursday in La Palma, Spain.
The Cumbre Vieja volcano put in danger the mainland’s banana crops, which are essential to the island’s economy.
The lava streams have progressed slowly to the west since Sunday, eating away houses, schools and some banana trees.
Farmers of Todoque town hurried to save their banana crops, which many people depend on for a living.
They piled their trucks with unripe green bananas in an attempt to save as much as possible.
“We’re just trying to take everything we can,” said Roberto, who is one of the farmers.
Sergio Caceres, manager of Asprocan, said nearly 15% of La Palma’s banana production is in danger if farmers couldn’t reach their crops.
The annual production is around 140 million kilograms.
“Many of the affected people are banana producers or employees, and their livelihood is further down the hill,” he said.
He added that authorities have already covered some farms.
Caceres said that the farmers have already experienced dire losses, and if the lava reaches the water, it’ll cause problems for months.
La Palma produced almost a quarter of the Canary Islands’ famed bananas.
Property portal Idealista estimates the volcano had destroyed 87 million euros worth of property so far.
Volcano experts have said the gases that erupt from the lava are not harmful to public health.
However, the thick ash clouds extend 4.2 km into the sky, which raises fears of visibility for flights.
The airport stays open, but authorities have excluded two regions to authorized aircraft only.
According to the EU’s Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service, the winds would propel the cloud to the north.
The local authorities raised awareness among people to clean food and clothes to avoid inhaling toxic ash.
