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CNN 10
Volcano Still Erupting In The Canary Islands; CNN Hero Helps Colombian Community With Sanitation And Clean Drinking Water; Large Transport Vessel. Aired 4-4:10a ET
Aired September 27, 2021 - 04:00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CARL AZUZ, CNN 10 ANCHOR: Hi, I`m Carl Azuz. Welcome to the show. It`s good to have you watching as we kick off a new week of news coverage. We`re
returning to the Canary Islands today, a Spanish archipelago off the coast of northwest Africa. That`s where the Cumbre Vieja volcano has been
erupting since September 19th, and this thing hasn`t settled down.
In fact, the Canary Islands regional government says the most energetic moment of the eruption was recorded on Friday afternoon. That`s when two
new vents opened on the volcano`s crater. These are new places were lava is oozing out, and the new vents eventually merged together forming a fast
moving flow of lava.
The volcano is located on the island of La Palma. It`s one of the smaller Canary Islands. La Palma is only about 26 miles long, and 17 miles across
at its widest point. So people there are limited on where they can go to get away from the eruption. Spanish media say hundreds of homes and
buildings have been destroyed by lava. Spain`s prime minister, who`s spent most of the past week on La Palma, says immediate financial help is on the
way from the Spanish government to those who`s been effected. La Palma`s airport was open on Sunday to fly people out. That wasn`t the case on
Saturday, so how else could residents and tourists evacuate.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Red hot lava seized through the darkness, over Spain`s La Palma Island. A shocking display from afar and chaos for anyone living
near the volcano. Daylight in La Palma is time for cleaning up. Shop owners sweep away the ashes that have accumulated overnight. The volcano has
spewed out thousands of tons of lava since it began erupting a week ago, but experts say it is now in a dangerous explosive stage, and a new
emission vent has opened.
Firefighters are evacuating more towns because of the volatility. So far about 6,000 people have been forced to leave their homes. Spain`s airport
operator announced the island`s airport was inoperable on Saturday, too may clouds of ash and volcanic debris on the runways. Several flights were
cancelled leaving some tourists stranded. Others joined the long lines at the ferry to try to leave town.
CARLOS GARCIA, TOURIST (TRANSLATED): I feel sad for the people who are having such a bad time. We feel very bad about what is happening.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But leaving isn`t an easy option for some, besides tourism, La Palma depends on banana crops to support its economy. This
farmer says his house was spared but his harvest is lost. The fruit that wasn`t blackened by the heat is contaminated by volcanic dust.
ANTONIO BRITO, BANANA FARMER (TRANSLATED): So this is all burnt. This has been completely burned by the heat and the wind, and the same goes for that
over there. The bananas are completely burned.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This family living in the shadow of the volcano, all too familiar with its rumblings and the warnings that come with it. Their bags
are packed and ready to go if the authorities tell them to evacuate.
REMEDIOS DOMINGUEZ, LA PALMA RESIDENT (TRANSLATED): We cannot sleep. It`s constantly there. Yesterday, shockwaves were reaching us and the house was
shaking.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hoping against hope that their home will be safe like this one, left untouched by a previous lava flow when everything else
around it was lost.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AZUZ: 10 Second Trivia. What is the only South American country to border both the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea? Costa Rica, Colombia,
Venezuela, or Argentina. Costa Rica is part of Central America so the only South American country to do this is Colombia.
No drinking water. No electricity. No roads. Those are the biggest difficulties in living in rural parts of Colombia according to one person
who does. She says her kids couldn`t do their homework at night because there wasn`t enough light. In 2015, a community worker named Jennifer
Colpas helped found an organization that`s working to change that. Colpas is a CNN Hero.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JENNIFER COLPAS, CNN HERO AND FOUNDER OF TIERRA GRATA: After 50 years of war have made Colombia the country with the highest (inaudible). For years
in this rural area, because of the armed conflict, all these communities were forgotten and are likely to have access to any basic service. They
have been invisible from the government and also from a lot of Colombians.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (NOT TRANSLATED)
COLPAS: These area are so remote that there is no (inaudible) roads to get here. Nobody goes there, but we are going there to provide them the
essentials. After my college, I moved to India and I was working in an IT company. I observed really, extreme poverty over there. Something inside me
starting saying, like, you need to do something about it.
So I decided to change all my career path. When I came back to Colombia, I realized that there was a lot of extreme poverty not far from my home. I
start working in this very vulnerable area of Cartagena where there was no electricity. There as no drinkable water, and there was no toilets.
Me and my friend decided to start Tierra Grata, with the mission to provide access to basic services including clean energy, safe water and sanitation
to rural areas. Tierra Grata means "Gratitude to the Earth". The families that we are working with use candles, gasoline lamps. They were spending a
lot of money and the smoke of the lamps were negatively affecting their help. So we put solar panels on their homes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (NOT TRANSLATED)
COLPAS: The energy program works to our energy solar system, so they can turn on the lights and other electronic equipment. We also provide solar
lamps so they can move around their own communities in the light. The water that they have access is not drinkable water. That water makes them
(inaudible) healthy problems.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (NOT TRANSLATED)
COLPAS: The water filter program, it is a micro-filtration process that they can (inaudible) that can make people sick. Every family will have
around 40 liters of water per day. So they can cook and they can drink safe water.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (NOT TRANSLATED)
COLPAS: We have already reached around 10,000 people. What inspired me is their stories, their inner power to go ahead and they are very resilient.
They really (inaudible) to go further because despite all the problems that they have faced, they keep going and they don`t give up.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (NOT TRANSLATED)
COLPAS: My biggest dream is that they can wake-up not just to survive, but they can make a step forward and start fulfilling their dreams.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AZUZ: For 10 out of 10, one instance in which you`re not going to need a bigger boat. This heavy transport vessel is "hugemongus". How big is it?
It`s able to carry a cruise ship. The BOKA Vanguard is the largest ship of its kind. The deck of the specially made vessel is able to sink below the
water`s surface, so it can scoop up, so to speak, massive equipment like inoperable cruise ships or more commonly offshore oil and gas structures.
When you "cargo" put out to sea, because it`s "maritime" to move something massive, or there are "hard ships" upon the high seas. Because the cruisers
ain`t "cruising" their "passive" but BOKA on Vanguard against lost of hope. The "vast whale of a vessel" that can float your boat. I`m Carl Azuz.
Plainfield, Illinois is our last stop today. It`s the home of the Cougars of Plainfield South High School. We`ll see you tomorrow for more CNN.
END
