Authorities suggested redirecting the lava flows of erupting volcano on the island of Palma using bombardment

In the Canary Islands, the eruption of the Cumbre Vieja volcano continues. Over the 43 days that activity continues, 7,000 residents have been evacuated from the southwest of Palma, according to Live Science. Data from the European satellite system Copernicus showed that lava destroyed 2,519 buildings and spread over an area of 9.4 square kilometers. In recent days, Palma has also experienced a series of earthquakes, so the scale of destruction should increase.

In this regard, the president of the municipal council of the neighboring island of Homera, Casimiro Curbelo, suggested redirecting the lava flows using bombardment. “Is there really no plane that could drop [the bomb]? It falls, explodes - and makes the lava flow in a different direction, ”Curbelo said during a debate on Canary radio Faycán. "It may be crazy, but I got the impression that from a technological point of view, it can be tried." Courbelo's proposal caused ridicule among the Spaniards and made the politician the hero of memes in which he is depicted in the company of Bruce Willis, who tried to destroy an asteroid with a nuclear bomb in "Armageddon".

Nevertheless, this proposal is not so wild and has a historical basis. In 1935, the US military dropped 20 high-explosive bombs on the lava that flowed from the Mauna Loa volcano in Hawaii, approaching the city of Hilo. After the bombardment, the lava flow stopped. True, as subsequent studies showed, this turned out to be a coincidence.

And in 1983, when Etna erupted in Sicily, an attempt was made to divert lava flows from the nearby ancient, using dynamite. More than 400 kilograms of explosives, enclosed in water-cooled pipes, were placed next to the lava flows, and after the explosion, the lava went into an artificial trench.

The Spanish authorities have not yet responded to Courbelo's proposal. If the activity of Cumbre Vieja continues this week, the volcano will break its own record: in 1949, it erupted for 47 days.