Today’s latest news about the La Palma volcano
SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, Sep 28 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Minister of Public Works, Transport and Housing of the Government of the Canary Islands, Sebastián Franquis, announced this Tuesday in the Parliament of the Canary Islands that his department is finalizing the administrative procedures to already have a lot close to 100 homes to offer them to people who were evicted by the effects of the La Palma volcano and who do not have their own accommodation at the moment.
“Personnel from the Ministry and the Visocan company have been on La Palma for a week looking for homes and I can now announce that we are ready to deliver the first homes to these affected people at the beginning of next October,” said the counselor Sebastián Franquis in the regional Chamber.
The counselor specified that the Housing technicians have already located several developments in the municipalities of Tazacorte, Fuencaliente and Los Llanos that would add up to more than 75 homes that would be acquired almost immediately by the Autonomous Community to face the housing emergency There are many families living on La Palma who have been left homeless by volcanic lava flows.
To those houses that would be bought would be added others that a bank will give up and others that are owned by the Canarian Housing Institute (Icavi) until adding the hundred houses that could be delivered during the month of October.
LOT OF 267 HOUSES
The medium-term objective is to buy about 150 more homes until we have a lot of 267 houses acquired by the Autonomous Community and, together with those transferred, to be able to offer about 300 homes to those affected by the end of this year.
“I am aware of the need to face the important housing emergency that we are facing on La Palma, and from the Canarian Government, and especially I as the head of this area, has no other idea in mind than to immediately make available to the families affected a decent home, especially those who do not have a home at this time. That is what we are doing and I am convinced that at the beginning of October we can begin to deliver the first of these homes, “explained the counselor Franquis.
Thus, he has indicated that this is what has been planned, first with the most immediate emergency with hotel facilities and now finalizing the home purchase. “And if more houses are needed, we plan to buy and install manufactured homes if the demand for homes is much higher,” he added.
The Autonomous Community will face the purchase of these homes with its own resources to which will be added those of the Government of Spain, which has approved a Royal Decree by which 10.5 million euros are allocated to the Canary Islands only to attend the housing emergency that has caused the volcano in the western region of La Palma.
AGREEMENT WITH THE COLLEGE OF SOCIAL WORKERS The regional councilor also announced that his department is preparing to sign an agreement with the College of Social Workers of Tenerife to assign around fifteen of these professionals to La Palma so that they can carry out on the field a diagnosis of the real needs of the population affected by the eruption of the volcano.
“I believe that we are in the right direction in the sense of the speed with which we are acting all the administrations. And in this sense I want to express the coordination that we maintain both within the Canarian Government itself as a whole, as well as the one that we maintain with the municipalities and the Cabildo, and with the Government of Spain, “added Franquis.
The counselor also commented that “there are technicians from the Ministry on the island of La Palma locating homes and others studying each of the affected roads to plan the reconstruction plan to be developed in the coming months with much more structural solutions.”
Therefore, he pointed out, “the Canarian Government is clear about what the political, economic and social priority should be at this time that does not involve any other objective that is not to recover normality as soon as possible on the island of La Palma.”
