In southwest Iceland, a volcano erupted on Sunday, creating an immediate threat to a small fishing community that had already been evacuated earlier this year.
This eruption took place north of Grindavik, and molten rock was emitted from fissures, and bright orange lava streaked across the sky as the eruption was captured in early morning footage.
The Icelandic president Gudni Johannesson has assured the public that no lives are in danger, but he does not rule out the possibility of infrastructure damage becoming worse. A potential outbreak of disease had been detected by seismic activity in the area, causing the town of Grindavik to be evacuated for the second time within a month.
As part of the efforts to prevent lava from reaching Grindavik, a city located 40 kilometers southwest of Reykjavik, efforts had been made to build barriers. Despite this, there does not seem to have been any damage to the town as a result of the latest eruption.
Icelandic Meteorological Office reported that a crack had opened on both sides of the defences, and there were flows of lava flowing towards Grindavik, which was within approximately 450 meters of the city center. If the current trajectory of the lava continues, it has been estimated that lava could reach the town of Grindavik within a few hours, based on flow models.
In less than a month, Iceland has seen its second volcanic eruption on the Reykjanes peninsula in southwest Iceland; this is the fifth eruption since the year 2021. Grindavik had been evacuated from its residents following the previous eruption of the Svartsengi volcanic system, and the popular Blue Lagoon geothermal spa had been closed after the previous eruption. Even though over 100 Grindavik residents returned home recently, a renewed evacuation order was issued on Saturday following the return of over 100 citizens.
Since Iceland is located between two tectonic plates, the Eurasian and the North American, by virtue of the opposing movements of the plates, it is frequently subjected to volcanic eruptions and seismic activity.
It is important to note that the volcanic systems of the Reykjanes area are not trapped under glaciers like those of Eyafjallajokull, which caused ash clouds to affect Europe in 2010, but they remain important geological hotspots.
That news provided by timenews.
+ There are no comments
Add yours