Again. Already evacuated on November 11 as a precautionary measure, due to hundreds of earthquakes caused by the movement of magma under the earth’s crust, which resulted in a volcanic eruption on December 18, the inhabitants of Grindavik (Iceland) who had returned home were evacuated again during the night from Saturday to Sunday.
Lava from a volcano erupted on Sunday near this fishing port which has 4,000 inhabitants, located about forty km southwest of Reykjavik. The eruption set fire to three homes in the locality. Lava had not reached homes for 51 years.
Evacuation in the middle of the night
Seismic activity accelerated sharply during the night, and the few dozen residents resettled in this town at the end of December were evacuated around 3 a.m. (local time and GMT). Two cracks then opened, one around 8 a.m. some 400 meters from the town and the other at midday on the edge of the first homes, according to the Icelandic Meteorological Office (IMO), spewing large flows bright orange lava.
In the middle of the afternoon, the first two houses were hit by the burning lava and immediately caught fire, releasing large plumes of black smoke, according to images from surveillance cameras broadcast by Icelandic public television. A third house was also later burned.
“Black day for Grindavik and for all of Iceland”
“In a small town like this, we are all like family, we all know each other like family, so it’s a tragedy to see this,” reacted Sveinn Ari Gudjonsson, 55, a resident of Grindavik evacuated in november. “It’s unreal. It’s like watching a movie,” adds this man who works in the fishing industry.
Speaking at a press conference, Icelandic Prime Minister Katrin Jakobsdottir lamented “a dark day for Grindavik and for all of Iceland”. “But the sun will rise again,” she promised. “Together we will face this trauma.” “The last time lava reached homes was 51 years ago,” recalled President Gudni Johannesson during a rare address on public television. “We hope that things will calm down, that everyone will be able to return but (…) everything is possible. We must remain hopeful,” he added.
Disappearance of a 51-year-old man in a crevasse
Shortly after the eruption of December 18, residents were allowed to return briefly to Grindavik and then permanently since December 23, before being urgently evacuated during the night from Saturday to Sunday. Only a few dozen residents had returned to their homes.
Authorities on Saturday evening issued an order to evacuate the city by Monday due to seismic activity and its impact on existing crevasses in the city. So they had to pick up the pace during the night. This decision also follows the disappearance on Wednesday of a 51-year-old Icelander who was working in a private garden when the ground suddenly gave way under his feet. The man, who was not found, fell more than thirty meters into a crevasse.