Dutch designed 'house of miracles' goes viral for surviving La Palma volcano

A photo of one small, white house, surrounded by the La Palma landscape blackened by lava, volcanic ash, and smoke has gone all over the world. This house that survived when hundreds of others were destroyed by the rare eruption of the Cumbre Vieja, renamed the 'house of miracles' online, was designed by Dutch woman Ada Monnikendam, AD reports.

Monnikedam has lived on La Palma for decades. She and her husband owned the company that designed and built the house for a Danish couple some 30 years ago. According to Monnikedam, the couple, who hasn't been to the island since the outbreak of the pandemic, was delighted to hear that their house survived. "They don't want to talk to anyone because they can't stop crying," she said to BBC.

The Cumbre Vieja volcano erupted on Sunday, after thousands of earthquakes in the preceding days. Lava flows destroyed hundreds of buildings and homes on the Canary Island off the coast of Morocco over the past days. The house of miracles is located in El Paraiso, where more than half of the homes and the local school were destroyed.

The story of this surviving home also made an impression on Dutch ambassador Jan Versteeg in Spain. "Between all the sadness, there are often bright spots, such as the many stories about people helping each other, or making themselves useful by, for example, evacuating the many animals from the area. And the special story about one small house that was miraculously spared."