Seismic activity at La Palma volcano slows after three months

Dec. 15 (UPI) -- For the first time in three months, tremor activity at La Palma has come to halt and could mean the end of the Cumbre Vieja volcano eruption.

A lack of seismic activity on Monday evening came after three months of eruptions, earthquakes and evacuations that have destroyed almost 3,000 buildings and forced thousands of people from their homes.

"We can see now that the seismicity is very weak, the deformation is zero, the tremor is zero," volcanologist Rubén López told The Guardian. "Now, with these parameters, we can see the volcano had stopped, and maybe we could start to see the end of the La Palma volcanic eruption."

Volcanic activity has fallen while emissions of sulphur dioxide were extremely low on Tuesday. Experts say the end of the eruption is not guaranteed but that the volcano is definitely in decline.

The Cumbre Vieja volcano on the island of La Palma erupted on Sept. 19 and spread across 1,500 acres of land on the island.