No sign of end to La Palma eruption 85 days on

A volcanic eruption in Spain’s Canary Islands shows no sign of ending after 85 days, becoming the island of La Palma’s longest eruption on record Sunday.

It leaves behind thousands of evacuees, destroyed homes and millions in financial losses, mainly in the tourism sector and for banana farms.  It is the longest eruption since records began on the island, in the sixteenth century.

Despite the damage, no injuries or deaths have been directly linked to the eruption.  Much of the area covered by rivers of lava, which are dumping molten rock into the sea, is farmland. The volcanic Canary Islands, which are a favorite warm weather vacation site for Europeans, lie off Africa’s northwest coast.