A volcanic eruption on Iceland’s Reykjanes peninsula forced evacuations in Grindavik for the second time in a month. Photo by Icelandic Meteorological Office/EPA-EFE
A volcano in Iceland’s Southern Peninsula region erupted Sunday for the second time in a month, creating cracks in the ground and unleashing massive lava flows that forced the evacuation of a nearby fishing town.
“No lives are in danger,” Iceland’s President Guoni Th. Johannesson said in a statement in which he also acknowledged “infrastructure may be under threat.” Advertisement
Iceland’s coast guard flew over the active volcano in a helicopter and spotted fissures in the land north of the village of Grindavik, where protective barriers were being constructed after four eruptions on the Reykjanes peninsula since 2021.
The flow from the eruption maintained the same strength for hours, according to the Icelandic Meteorological Office, while aerial footage showed a river of thrashing lava making its way across the island’s southwest coast, where homes and other buildings were in the immediate path of danger.
Seismic activity appeared to be waning in the afternoon, although a new fissure opened up north of Grindavik, sending more lava toward the town.
Some dwellings were incinerated as molten rock barreled through the outskirts of Grindavik, although there was no immediate assessment of damage as the emergency was still in its early stages. Advertisement
Popular tourist attractions also closed down in anticipation of Sunday’s eruption, while authorities ordered more than 100 residents in Grindavik to evacuate the night before the boom.
Seismic measurements by the meteorological agency revealed that the magma flow first moved from the southeast edge of Stora-Skogfell and then continued southwest to the southern end of Grindavik.
Iceland’s Civil Protection agency said emergency crews were searching for the precise location of the eruption, while the country’s Meteorological Office said they believed the blast occurred south-southeast of Hagafell.
Another volcano in the region erupted on December 18, prompting the evacuation of Grindavik ‘s 4,000 residents, although the town was spared after the lava flowed off in a different direction.
