Volcano erupts in Iceland, forcing another evacuation for fishing town

A volcano erupted in southwest Iceland on Sunday, posing an immediate threat to a nearby fishing town that had been evacuated over fears of an eruption, authorities said.

Early morning live streams from the site showed fountains of molten rock spewing from fissures in the ground, the bright orange lava flow glowing against the dark sky.

The eruption began north of the town of Grindavik, which on Saturday was evacuated for a second time over fears that an eruption was imminent amid a swarm of seismic activity, authorities said.

Iceland in recent weeks sought to build barriers of earth and rock to prevent lava from reaching Grindavik, but the latest eruption appeared to have penetrated the defences.

Aerial shot of a volcano spewing lava near a town on the water
Lava flows close to a fishing town in southwest Iceland on Sunday. (Iceland Civil Protection/Reuters)

“According to the first images from the Coast Guard’s surveillance flight, a crack has opened on both sides of the defences that have begun to be built north of Grindavi­k,” the Icelandic Meteorological Office said in a statement.

“Lava is now flowing toward Grindavi­k. Based on measurements from the Coast Guard’s helicopter, the perimeter is now about 450 metres from the northernmost houses in the town,” it added.

It was the second volcanic eruption on the Reykjanes peninsula in southwest Iceland in less than one month, and the fifth outbreak since 2021.

Last month, an eruption started in the Svartsengi volcanic system on Dec. 18 following the complete evacuation of Grindavik’s 4,000 residents and the closing of the Blue Lagoon geothermal spa, a popular tourist spot.

More than 100 Grindavik residents had returned in recent weeks before Saturday’s renewed evacuation order, according to local authorities.

A volanco erupts at night
This image obtained from social media shows the volcano spewing smoke as it erupts near Grindavik, Iceland, on Sunday. (Gisli Olafsson/Reuters)

Iceland’s civil protection agency on Sunday said it had raised its alert level to “emergency,” the highest on a three-level scale, signalling an event had begun that could cause harm to people, communities, property or the environment.

Lying between the Eurasian and North American tectonic plates, two of the largest on the planet, Iceland is a seismic and volcanic hot spot as the two plates move in opposite directions.

An emergency worker stands on an empty road, facing an SUV and construction vehicles in the background
Emergency personnel use diggers on Sunday to fill in the last hole in a protective wall that was built to prevent flowing lava from reaching the southwestern Icelandic town of Grindavik. (Halldor Kolbeins/AFP/Getty Images)

FOLLOW US ON GOOGLE NEWS

Read original article here

Denial of responsibility! Chronicles Live is an automatic aggregator of the all world’s media. In each content, the hyperlink to the primary source is specified. All trademarks belong to their rightful owners, all materials to their authors. If you are the owner of the content and do not want us to publish your materials, please contact us by email – chronicleslive.com. The content will be deleted within 24 hours.

Leave a Comment