Narrator: Entire communities wiped from the map.
Others buried under meters of ash.
People on the Spanish island of La Palma lived through
a devastating volcanic eruption.
Now, they are trying to figure out what's next.
Narrator: When goat farmer Julio Cesar watched the north side
of the Cumbre Vieja volcano collapse last September,
he knew what that meant for his home and his cheese factory.
Narrator: The lava swept away his other factory
and the grazing land he used for his goats.
Julio Cesar and his family managed to escape unharmed.
Narrator: The eruption spewed lava for 85 days and eight hours
and destroyed over 1,600 buildings.
By the time the eruption was declared over
on Christmas Day 2021, the damage to property, businesses,
and roads was estimated at 900 million euros.
But local people say the economic and psychological toll
is much higher than that and will be felt for years.
Narrator: We went to the island of La Palma to understand
the true cost of one of Spain's
most destructive volcanic eruptions on record.
Julio Cesar and his family ran
from their home last September as rocks
the size of basketballs fell around them.
Narrator: Risking his own life, he went back a couple of days later
to rescue his 150 goats.
At first, the police wouldn't let him through.
Narrator: He brought them here, to a temporary pen
a few kilometers away.
Half of the herd died after the move.
He thinks they caught an infection
before he had time to properly clean and prepare the land.
Within a couple of weeks, the slow-moving lava erased
entire villages from the map.
Todoque, Los Campitos, El Paraiso --
now buried under up to 50 meters of rock.
Miraculously, no one has died,
but the eruption forced 7,000 people from their homes.
Most are staying with friends and family
or have left the island entirely.
Hardest hit has been the banana industry,
which makes up half of the island's economy.
Five hundred families have lost their plantations under the lava,
but a much larger area has been damaged
by months of ashfall.
From a distance, the plants look healthy,
but months of falling ash has ruined much of this crop.
Narrator: The coarse ash scratches the skin of the bananas.
So even though the fruit inside is untouched,
the European Union can reject them.
And next season is already looking bleak,
since young shoots that will provide
the new generation of fruit are badly damaged.
Narrator: When bananas arrive at this processing factory,
they now need to be cleaned more than ever before.
Some are so badly damaged by ash,
they are only good for animal feed.
Eduardo lost one small plantation,
as well as his water reservoirs.
Most of his extended family are cut off from their homes
by these walls of lava.
Narrator: Eduardo is also president of
the island's exporters association.
He says it's likely the island will lose around
a third of its annual 140 million kilos of exports.
Narrator: He says local authorities have paid out some compensation
for his damaged crop.
But farmers whose plantations have been buried under rock
or whose greenhouses were crushed by the sheer weight of ash
are still waiting to find out how much the government
and insurers will offer.
Some farmers are receiving unemployment payments
for lost jobs that may never come back.
Others are even less lucky.
Narrator: Banana plants can't grow on bare rock.
They need fertile soil that's well irrigated.
Eduardo likes the idea of blasting the lava
with explosives and then covering it in soil
to make farming possible again.
Narrator: Major eruptions here in 1949 and 1971
both left their mark on the landscape.
But not like this.
The 2021 eruption has been the island's longest on record,
and its most destructive.
The Canary Islands are all the summits
of vast underwater volcanoes.
It was never a question of if, but when.
Right now, we could have an activity
in almost all of the islands.
This means that the hotspot is still active.
Narrator: Still, the impact on lives and livelihoods
has stunned even the most hardened of islanders.
María Noelia García Leal grew up with stories
of how her grandparents lost their house during
the 1949 eruption.
Narrator: As well as being mayor, Maria is also a psychologist.
And for her, that's where the true cost
of this disaster lies.
Narrator: She worries about people like Silvia Rodriguez Hernandez.
Narrator: She and her husband, Victor Jose, can't even say for sure
where the house they were renting is on a map anymore.
For now, they live in a caravan
outside the town of Los Llanos,
like dozens of others in a similar situation.
Narrator: Silvia has arthritis and says she suffers
from inhaling the volcanic ash
and trying to manage the stress.
Narrator: For now, they receive basic payments to cover things
like food and clothes and gas for their stove.
People who have lost their homes entirely are entitled
to an aid package of up to 60,000 euros from the government.
Work is underway just next door on prefabricated homes
for people who have lost theirs.
But rebuilding the community may take a generation.
Three schools were swallowed by the volcano.
The pupils from two of them are now being taught here
in a temporary school in Los Llanos.
But it's not just losing the buildings.
Teachers and pupils fled for their lives
and then watched a slow-motion disaster
as the lava engulfed their homes.
Now, many feel they've lost part of their identity.
Narrator: Angeles was head teacher of Los Campitos Junior School.
She says some of the pupils have become quieter
since the eruption.
She says they are also struggling with the transition
from a rural setting to town life.
Narrator: She was a child at the time of the 1971 eruption.
It lasted for three weeks
but did very little damage by comparison.
Narrator: The mayor would like to see families eventually rehoused
as close as possible to the communities
where they lived before.
Some homes will slowly emerge as diggers begin
to remove meters of ash, but many are gone for good.
Julio Cesar certainly hasn't wasted any time
in getting back on his feet.
He was making cheese again just four days
after the eruption started.
He moved into this new facility,
ironically built in the middle of an old lava field
from the 15th century.
He estimates his total losses at around 2 million euros.
So far, he's received only a quarter of that
from insurance companies.
He isn't sure when, or if, he'll see any more.
But then again, he's not looking for help.
He prefers to look forward.
Narrator: Work is well underway to recover what can be saved.
But for many, the life and the livelihood they once had
may never come back.