Blue Lagoon evacuated
Volcanic eruption on Iceland again: lava flows towards the coastal town of Grindavik
According to experts, the crack in the earth was around 3.5 kilometers long. photo
© Uncredited/Almannavarnir, Iceland Civil Defense/AP/dpa
It is the fourth volcanic eruption in Iceland in just a few months: just 40 minutes after the alarm, lava fountains shot out of a crack in the earth during the night. Now the lava flow is approaching a coastal town.
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.
10 pictures
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.
Hardly any preparation time for a volcanic eruption
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 only 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.