A house in the Canary Islands - an autonomous Spanish archipelago off the coast of northwest Africa - escaped the flow of volcanic lava in La Palma. The photos show the untouched settlement, in the middle of a black landscape, completely burned by the volcanic eruption.
People on social media described it as the "house of miracles". The owners of the house, a retired Danish couple who were not on the island, said they were "relieved she was still staying there", according to Ada Monnikendam who built the house with her husband.
"We all started crying like crazy when I told [the owners] that their beloved home was intact," Monnikendam told El Mundo. The house is located in El Paraíso, where more than half of the local homes and schools have been destroyed.
The couple chose La Palma Island specifically because of the volcanic landscape, Monnikendam told El Mundo. She said it was "sad to know that the house is there alone, without being able to take care of it".
The director of the National Geographic Institute in the Canary Islands, Maria Jose Blanco, told a news conference that "seismic activity on La Palma Island was now low."
In some places, lava flow rose up to 15 meters. At present, it has covered 166 hectares and destroyed 350 houses. Uncertainty has left many residents on the west side of the island. Scientists say lava flows could last for weeks or months.
No serious damage or death has been reported for the volcano eruption, but about 15% of the banana harvest, crucial to the island's economy, could be in jeopardy, endangering thousands of jobs.
The last eruption in La Palma occurred in 1971.
Sources: Associated Press, El Mundo, Reuters
