| By Whitney Johnson, Director of Visual and Immersive Experiences |
PHOTOGRAPHS BY ARTURO RODRÍGUEZ
“I never dreamed about being so close to something like this,” says photographer Arturo Rodríguez. “It’s so big, so powerful.”
For weeks, earthquakes had rattled the neighboring island of La Palma, where Arturo was born and raised. And then, the Cumbre Vieja volcanic ridge erupted (pictured above).
Arturo had been preparing for a trip to La Palma to photograph scientists as they monitored the island's volcanoes; instead, he found lava and ash, destruction and displacement. He spent 65 days documenting the impact of the eruptions on his homeland.
"This monster erupted in the middle of the most populated area," Arturo says. So far, the ongoing eruption has destroyed more than 2,500 buildings and displaced thousands of people.
(Pictured, above left, officials watching lava take over a village; above right, the buildup of heavy ash can force roofs to collapse if not continually swept off or propped up with extra pillars of wood; below, workers in special suits measure the temperature of lava flows and take back rock samples for researchers.)
"I can feel the pain,” Arturo says, “of all the people here.”
Oblivious? A horse and its foal calmly graze as the volcano erupts behind them.
(Sources: National Geographic)
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