Mission in "Cumbre Vieja" (Old Summit)

The eruption of the "Cumbre Vieja" volcano on the island of La Palma has been making the headlines since 19 September. The lava has covered more than a thousand hectares and more than 2,000 houses have been destroyed.    

As in other natural disasters, such as the "Filomena" storm, which mainly affected the centre of the peninsula at the beginning of 2021, the Armed Forces have contributed to the necessary work.  

The action is coordinated within the Special Plan for Civil Protection and Emergency Care due to Volcanic Risk in the Autonomous Community of the Canary Islands. Although the Military Emergency Unit has the largest number of troops deployed, the Army, Air Force and Navy have joined forces to mitigate the effects of the eruption and provide assistance to affected civilian personnel.  

Several earthquakes occurred in the days prior to the eruption of the "Cumbre Vieja" volcano, located on the island of La Palma. This event served to warn of a situation that would last for a long time and end up leaving many families without an important part of their lives. 

 On 19 September, after three o'clock in the afternoon, local time, large columns of smoke and ash began to emerge, while lava was breaking out in the area of Cabeza de Vaca, in the town of El Paso.  

Initially, the Guardia Civil evacuated approximately 5,000 people (Europa Press, 2021) and very soon the emergency was extended to red level.  

This was only the beginning of an action in which the collaboration of different actors, including the Armed Forces, has been necessary (Fernández, 2021).  

The Autonomous Community of the Canary Islands registers significant volcanic activity, something that does not occur in other parts of Spain. However, not all the islands of the archipelago have maintained the same level of activity in recent years. The most intense are La Palma, Tenerife and El Hierro.   

Lanzarote, considered volcanically active, has had two major eruptions, in 1730 and 1824. Gran Canaria, on the other hand, has not recorded recent activity, although it has been active for the last 10,000 years. (Involcan, 2018) 

In the case of La Gomera and Fuerteventura, the risk of an eruption is relatively low.  

During the month of September alone, 1,600 earthquakes occurred in the Canary Islands area. (National Geographic Institute, 2021) 

The Government of the Canary Islands has a Special Plan for Civil Protection and Emergency Care due to Volcanic Risk in the Autonomous Community of the Canary Islands (PEVOLCA), approved by Decree 112/2018 of 30 July (Involcan, 2018). The aim is to achieve a coordinated, agile, effective and efficient response between all public administrations to deal with seismovolcanic crises and emergencies arising from them.  

The Plan comes after the precedents of Tenerife, in 2004, and El Hierro, in 2011 and 2013.  During the recent eruption on La Palma, the PEVOLCA has served to coordinate action and unify procedures among all those involved. 

 The Military Emergency Unit

From the very day the volcano erupted, the Military Emergency Unit (UME) mobilised troops in the area. The first to deploy were some of the members of the Canary Islands Emergency Intervention Unit.  

Later, the first 62 troops were added, who left the "Los Rodeos" base in Tenerife by boat to La Palma. A second team, with 64 UME soldiers, joined them from the island of Gran Canaria. At the same time, from the mainland, an A 400 aircraft of the Spanish Air Force flew another 58 soldiers belonging to the 2nd Emergency Intervention Battalion (BIEM). Among them was an atmosphere control team from the Grupo de Intervención en Emergencias Tecnologías y Medioambientales (GIETMA), from Madrid. (Ministry of Defence, 2021) 

The troops of the Military Emergency Unit are integrated into the system managed by the Government of the Canary Islands, in accordance with the PEVOLCA. In this way, the soldiers of the 2nd Battalion have carried out surveillance and control tasks to minimise the collateral damage caused by the advance of the lava flows. They have also accompanied and helped evacuated residents to collect their personal belongings.  

For its part, the GIETMA has been in charge of measuring the air to prevent possible toxic gases, in collaboration with personnel from the Autonomous Community of the Canary Islands and the National Geological Institute. 

To assist in these tasks, a vehicle equipped with different sensors has been used to detect, identify and take environmental samples of possible chemical agents. Among the most recognised in this type of situation are carbon monoxide, sulphur dioxide and hydrochloric acid, which could be formed when lava comes into contact with sea salt. 

To guarantee support, the UME has established relays of its units and the Canary Islands Government has requested that its presence in the area be maintained for the time being.  

One of the main actions carried out by the Army has been to provide the necessary logistics for the accommodation, security or services of the evacuated civilian personnel.  

After the first eruption, and within a few hours, a thousand accommodation places were made available to the civilian authorities. The main facilities that have been in use are those of the Protection Support Unit (UAPRO) "El Fuerte", to which has been added the support of personnel and camp material from the "Canarias" XVI Brigade, part of the Canary Islands Command, and from the Fifth General Sub-inspection of the Army.  

In addition, dependent personnel and those with special health needs have been accommodated at "El Fuerte", thanks to the support provided by the Red Cross and the Canary Islands Health Service.  

The Army is also collaborating with the UME and others involved from these facilities, providing the necessary logistical infrastructure in terms of accommodation, security and even the installation of the command post, among other tasks.  

In short, the Barracks has served as an embryo for the projection and immediate deployment of military capabilities in the event of an emergency. The availability of this UAPRO on the non-capital islands of the archipelago has proven to be a strategic capability for the agile and effective execution of military operations and support to civilian authorities in emergencies. 

On 13 October, a section of the 93rd Field Artillery Regiment was incorporated to collaborate in the work of removing ash within the exclusion zone. They were later relieved by another section of the 49th Infantry Regiment "Tenerife" and the aim is to carry out weekly rotations. Means from the "Valencia" No. 1 NBC Regiment have also been incorporated to collaborate in the tasks of measuring air quality. (Pulido, 2021) 

The Navy has also been involved in helping those affected by the eruption of the "Cumbre Vieja" volcano. Since 11 November, landing craft from the amphibious assault ship "Castilla" have been transporting farmers to land that is difficult to access and has been isolated as a result of the lava flows.  

The aim is to enable them to tend and irrigate their crops. The journey takes approximately 20 minutes and goes from the port of Tazacorte to the beach of Puerto Naos.  

The Cabildo de La Palma requested the aid on 1 November and just one week later the ship left the Rota Naval Base (Cádiz) for La Palma.  

The "Castilla" arrived with a crew of 250 and carried four boats, each capable of carrying 80 people. However, around thirty of them took charge of the boats and the transport. (EFE, 2021) 

The intention is that the aid will remain in the area for as long as necessary. Furthermore, it will be adapted to the needs of the farmers.  

Thanks to this support, the journey can be completed in a shorter time and thus help to save crops that have not been destroyed by the lava.  

The Armed Forces have provided support in the emergency caused by the "Cumbre Vieja" volcano, from the moment the eruption began on 19 September.  

The operation was integrated into the Special Plan for Civil Protection and Emergency Care due to Volcanic Risk in the Autonomous Community of the Canary Islands.  

The action was carried out in a rapid and coordinated manner. In fact, a platoon of sappers from the Army's XVI "Canarias" Brigade, which was carrying out preparation activities, immediately joined the operation. 

The UME has employed the largest number of personnel, although the support provided by the Army, the Air Force and the Navy has been fundamental.  

The Armed Forces have previously participated in other natural disasters, such as the Filomena storm at the beginning of 2021, so once again they are demonstrating their commitment to society in times of extraordinary need.  

The "Cumbre Vieja" volcano continues to be seismically active (National Geographic Institute, 2021) and to erupt, which is why the Armed Forces will remain in place for the time being, as requested by the government of the islands.  

Felipe Pulido Esteban 

Graduate in Journalism 

Graduate in Advanced National Defence Studies 

Contributor to the National Defence Area of Sec2Crime (www.sec2crime.com)