Latest news on the La Palma volcano
SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, 23 Sep. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Minister of Public Works, Transport and Housing of the Government of the Canary Islands, Sebastián Franquis, announced this Thursday that his department is already managing the acquisition of a total of 257 newly built homes, finished or nearing completion, on the island of La Palma , to face the housing emergency of hundreds of families who have been made homeless by the eruption of a volcano last Sunday in the Cumbre Vieja area.
These houses will be joined by another 23 homes of a new promotion that the Canary Housing Institute (ICAVI) is finalizing in the municipality of El Paso and that it will give up to face this housing emergency.
The amount has increased notably after the announcement made this Wednesday by the Vice President of the Executive, Román Rodríguez, which put the properties at 73.
The regional councilor assures in a note that the public company Visocan, dependent on the Ministry, is conducting an analysis on the ground to locate and contact all the owners of empty homes on the island at the moment.
As a result of this work, it has been determined that a first batch of just over a hundred homes can be purchased and made available to the affected residents next October.
In addition, Visocan staff has also located a dozen more developments that would add at least 150 other homes that could be available by the end of the year or early 2022.
“We have to work to address the housing emergency in this case, which is our main objective, and we have been working in that direction for some days to try to find a solution as soon as possible,” said Sebastián Franquis, “with the contacts that we are maintaining with owners of semi-finished and finished homes we believe that the most immediate housing emergency that we are experiencing could be faced, although reality must be measured week by week, that is why we will continue looking for homes and if the number of homeless people increases, we would put in There are other alternatives that we already have. “
The regional councilor highlighted the collaboration of these owners, among which is a bank, to offer their homes to the Government’s requirements.
To start this urgent acquisition of new homes, the Ministry has an item close to three million euros of own funds, to which should be added the specific items for housing that come from the EU and the Government of Spain, which has already announced the approval of a Royal Decree to help La Palma.
ROYAL DECREE
“We are waiting for the approval of this Royal Decree next Tuesday, which will be essential for reconstruction, since the Ministry has told us that it will include a package of measures to expedite aid, as well as the purchase of housing and to expedite also the construction of houses in the future, “he added.
Franquis also highlights that the vast majority of those evicted these days by the eruption of the Cumbre Vieja volcano have been transferred to tourist accommodation, and many of them the Government of the Canary Islands is also studying offering them temporary housing to cover their most urgent needs until they are given a definitive solution with a new home.
This provisional solution would go through the acquisition, through the emergency route, and installation of modules or prefabricated houses.
The Ministry has already requested a budget and delivery times from several companies specializing in this type of prefabricated housing so that, if necessary, they can be provisionally installed on La Palma.
“The fundamental thing now is the purchase of houses, to attend to the housing emergency, if the problem spreads and there are many more houses, it will also be necessary to consider the option of prefabricated houses of which we already have a budget and an availability study by if necessary, “said the regional councilor.
Sebastián Franquis also announced that next Monday he will hold a meeting in La Palma with the Cabildo and the mayors of the three most affected municipalities (El Paso, Los Llanos de Aridane and Fuencaliente) to discuss matters related to the reconstruction of road infrastructures damaged by the volcano, but above all, to manage the new homes that families who have lost their homes due to the effects of the volcano will need, and the availability of land that these municipalities have to build new houses in their territory.
