Another volcanic eruption in Iceland: For the fourth time since December, lava has emerged from a fissure in the earth in the same region. The bright red-orange eruptions near the coastal town of Grindavík could be seen from the capital Reykjavik, just 40 kilometers northeast, photos on the website of broadcaster RUV showed.
The Blue Lagoon tourist attraction, where around 700 people were present, was immediately evacuated. A few residents who had since returned to Grindavík were also taken out of town for safety reasons. But there is no danger to people, it said. According to initial evaluations of aerial photographs, it was assumed that the eruption was the strongest to date.
Scientists tried to get an idea of the situation from a helicopter. The eruption was again announced by strong seismic activity. Experts counted around 80 tremors. According to experts, the length of the crack in the earth was around 3.5 kilometers long. Rescue workers complained about tourists who had traveled to the region out of sensationalism.
The Icelandic Meteorological Office said early Sunday morning that the lava continued to flow south and southeast at an estimated speed of one kilometer per hour. The scenario that the lava reaches the sea must be taken into account. Some of the lava is also flowing towards the protective barriers for the coastal town of Grindavík, which was evacuated in November, and is now only around 200 meters away from them.
The advance warning phase for the eruption was very short: the first warning to the Ministry of Civil Protection was received just 40 minutes before the first eruption began.
Grindavík is located on the Reykjanes Peninsula around 55 kilometers southwest of Reykjavik. There have been four volcanic eruptions on the peninsula since mid-December, and in one in January the lava even covered three houses on the northern foothills of the town of 4,000 inhabitants. The future of the community is uncertain.
The government has already presented a draft law that would allow residents to sell their residential property to a state-owned company. The volcano erupted for the first time on December 18th and for the second time on January 14th. A third, smaller eruption was recorded on February 8th.
