Iceland volcano recedes after day of town fires

Updated Mon, January 15, 2024 at 12:32 PM MST

STORY: It was the worst case scenario, said an expert.

Molten lava flows reached the outskirts of the Icelandic town of Grindavik on Sunday (January 14), setting three houses alight, after a volcano erupted for the second time in less than a month.

The town, 25 miles southwest of the capital Reykjavik, was evacuated earlier and there was no immediate danger to people.

By Monday (January 15), the volcano appeared to be significantly less active, despite indications that magma is still flowing underground.

A crack in the earth's surface that opened close to Grindavik was no longer active, said geophysicist Ari Trausti Gudmundsson.

"The danger is that because there is still an influx of magma into the fissure system that a new eruptive fissure opens up either further to the north which is more or less okay but also to the south and that would then be within the borders of the city. Further south, closer to the harbor and if something like that happens much more houses are in real danger. No people, but much more houses and infrastructure."

The Icelandic Meteorological Office said the eruption center is a high-risk area and new fissures could open without warning.

Live video footage on Monday showed glimpses of orange lava still flowing to the surface but at smaller volumes, and further away from the town.

Residents of Grindavik, a town of some 4,000 people before it was first evacuated in November, said it was difficult to watch televized images of the fires.

Jon Gauti Dagbjartsson was evacuated just hours before the latest eruption.

"This is big, this is serious, it's basically as bad as it can possibly get. Although it might get even worse, who knows. So, I mean, I'm born in this town, I actually live in the house that I'm born in and it's a tough thought to think that this town might be over, and I would have to start all over somewhere else."

The Icelandic government will meet on Monday to decide on support for the people of Grindavik.

Iceland's volcanic eruption hits Grindavík

Julia O'Driscoll, The Week UK
Mon, January 15, 2024 

An aerial view across volcanic eruption in Iceland.

Iceland is facing a "worst case scenario", the country's police chief has said, as the Reykjanes peninsula experienced its second volcanic eruption in less than a month.

Residents of Grindavík evacuated their homes in the early hours of Sunday morning after "considerable seismic and magmatic activity" was recorded, said RÚV, Iceland's national broadcaster.

The ground level had risen by several centimetres in the days before, "pushed up by magma rising beneath", said Sky News's science correspondent Thomas Moore. "At first it opened a one kilometre gash" that stretched closer to the "thriving fishing town" than December's eruption, he continued – and "then a smaller fissure opened even closer to people's homes".

"Fountains of molten rock and smoke spewed from fissures in the ground," said Reuters, and lava has since "engulfed" a number of homes in the small town, said the Daily Mail.

The magma flow has "bypassed barriers" that were erected last month to protect Grindavík from a further eruption, said Sky News. Prime Minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir has described the situation as "highly serious". President Gudni Johannesson said in a post on X that "no lives are in danger" at present.

Emergency personnel pictured on road as lava flows in the background

An aerial view of lava flowing from fissures on the Rekjyane peninsula

A man is photographed adjusting his camera equipment as lava bubbles in the background

Lava seen spewing from behind a home

Lava seen flowing during the day in this aerial shot

Billowing smoke and lava seen from this aerial shot over Grindavik

Iceland volcano: New eruption sends lava into Grindavik, destroys homes

Steven Yablonski
Sun, January 14, 2024 


GRINDAVIK, Iceland – A state of emergency has been declared in Iceland after a volcano in the southwestern part of the country began to erupt and send lava surging into the seaside town of Grindavík, which had been evacuated after a swarm of earthquakes shook the region overnight and raised fears of an impending eruption. Homes were seen destroyed as the lava flowed into town.

According to the Icelandic Meteorological Office (IMO), a series of intense earthquakes began around 3 a.m. local time on Sunday. By just after 6 a.m. local time, the IMO reported more than 200 earthquakes, with a magnitude 3.5 being the strongest recorded.

ACTIVITY AT ICELAND VOLCANO STOPS; SCIENTISTS WARN IT'S TOO EARLY TO DECLARE ERUPTION OVER

The IMO said it received new information showing major changes in GPS measurements and borehole pressure readings during the earthquake swarm.

"These observations, in addition to the ongoing seismicity, confirm magma is moving within the region," the IMO warned before the eruption. "Our assessment is that the possibility of an eruption is high and that it could occur imminently."

Another fissure would open to the southeast of Hagafell Mountain just before 8 a.m. local time, with the southernmost part of that fissure found about a half-mile from the town of Grindavík.

WHAT HAPPENS BEFORE A VOLCANO ERUPTS?

Lava explosions are seen near residential buildings in the southwestern Icelandic town of Grindavik after a volcanic eruption on January 14, 2024. Seismic activity had intensified overnight and residents of Grindavik were evacuated, Icelandic public broadcaster RUV reported. This is Iceland's fifth volcanic eruption in two years, the previous one occurring on December 18, 2023 in the same region southwest of the capital Reykjavik. Iceland is home to 33 active volcano systems, the highest number in Europe. (Photo by Halldor KOLBEINS / AFP)More

According to RÚV, about 200 people were in Grindavík when evacuation orders were issued overnight due to fears of the impending and eventual volcanic eruption.

One resident told RÚV that she didn't notice any earthquakes before going to bed around 1 a.m. local time. However, she was forced awake by the sounds of sirens around 4 a.m. local time, and when she checked her cell phone, she received alerts to evacuate immediately.

She said she wasn't scared, "but my body trembled because it was just so new, and you didn't know how to behave."

ICELAND RESIDENT DESCRIBED RELENTLESS EARTHQUAKES, MOMENTS OF PANICKED EVACUATION

The IMO said a second eruptive fissure opened after noon local time on Sunday just north of town. Lava began to flow from that fissure and entered Grindavík.

Residents of Grindavík watched helplessly as lava quickly approached the town and began to destroy some homes there.

RÚV said at least three homes have been destroyed so far, and there are no signs that new fissures have opened up in town.

"The town had already been successfully evacuated overnight and no lives are in danger, although infrastructure may be under threat," Iceland President Guðni Jóhannesson said on X, formerly Twitter.

Jóhannesson added that no flights into or out of Iceland had been affected by Sunday's volcanic eruption south of the capital of Reykjavík. He's expected to address that nation on Sunday night.

Iceland’s public service broadcaster RÚV reported that both the electrical infrastructure and heating supply pipes had been damaged due to the earthquakes and the lava flow.

CAN ONE VOLCANO'S ERUPTION TRIGGER AN ERUPTION AT ANOTHER VOLCANO?

Original article source: Iceland volcano: New eruption sends lava into Grindavik, destroys homes