Iceland: Volcanic eruption threatens Grindavík – lava reaches coastal town

2024-01-14 19:29:00

A volcano has erupted in Iceland for the second time in four weeks. The eruption on the Reykjanes Peninsula southwest of Reykjavik began at 7:57 a.m. (local time) on Sunday morning, the Icelandic weather authority Vedurstofa announced. Live footage from Icelandic broadcaster RÚV showed lava bubbling out of an elongated fissure in the earth. Just a few hours later, a veritable sea of ​​lava had formed in the area, glowing glowing red in the dawn.

The 4,000-inhabitant town of Grindavík in the immediate vicinity of the area was evacuated that night. Human lives are not in danger, but the infrastructure there may be, said Icelandic President Gudni Th. Jóhannesson on the online platform were used to protect the coastal town from the lava. The lava has now reached the coastal town and set several houses on fire. This was shown by aerial photos from the Icelandic radio station RÚV.

Lava flows towards Grindavík in Iceland

According to the weather agency, the southernmost part of the fissure was around 900 meters from Grindavík. That morning, the authorities warned: “Lava is now flowing towards the city.” Aerial photographs taken by the civil protection authority illustrated how threateningly dense the lava flow was. Authorities warned against hiking to the lava. At the edge of the glowing lava, work machines that had been used to build systems to protect the coastal town from the lava were removed.

Then the earth opened up in another place in the midday hours – directly on the northern outskirts of Grindavík. From there, the glowing red lava moved down the valley before it caught at least two houses, which then burst into flames. Since the place had been evacuated, there was no danger to human life – but there was a danger to the belongings of the affected residents.

After a helicopter flyover with the broadcaster in the morning, volcano expert Magnús Tumi Guðmundsson estimated that the crack in the earth had grown to a length of a good kilometer. However, it is still unclear whether it has already reached its full size. If the eruption continues with similar intensity, it will take several hours for lava to reach the first houses, he said.

Second volcanic eruption since mid-December

Grindavík is located around 40 kilometers southwest of Reykjavik. The place had already been affected by the last eruption in mid-December – although not by the lava, but by several earthquakes that had announced the eruption. The quakes caused deep cracks in roads and other damage. A few days ago, according to Icelandic media reports, a worker allegedly fell into one of these crevices – the search for him has now been stopped without him being found.

This time too, the weather authority recorded an intense series of earthquakes with more than 200 tremors before the eruption. The agency warned that magma was moving beneath the Earth’s surface and the likelihood of an eruption was high.

Earth does not rest

The last time an eruption occurred in the area was in the late evening of December 18th, when lava initially bubbled out of a fissure in the earth several kilometers long. However, the eruption, the fourth on the peninsula in three years, significantly decreased in intensity within a few days. Before Christmas, liquid lava was no longer visible on the earth’s surface. The residents of Grindavík were ultimately able to spend the holidays in their own four walls – but with the constant uncertainty that the earth beneath them had not come to rest.

tkr/cl DPA