A volcano in Iceland was erupting yesterday, with geysers of molten lava shooting into the pitch-black night sky after weeks of seismic activity had the region southwest of the capital on high alert.
The eruption on the Reykjanes Peninsula, just north of the fishing town Grindavik, began on Monday at about 10:17pm after an earthquake swarm, the Icelandic Meteorological Office said, referring to a series of small quakes.
Live-streamed footage of the eruption showed glowing orange jets of lava spewing from a gash in the ground, surrounded by billowing clouds of red smoke.
Photo: EPA-EFE / Icelandic Coast Guard
“We hope for the best but it is clear this is a considerable eruption,” Icelandic Prime Minister Katrin Jakobsdottir wrote on Facebook.
For weeks, the Nordic nation had been anticipating an eruption on the peninsula southwest of the capital after intense earthquake activity, which prompted authorities to evacuate thousands of people and close the Blue Lagoon geothermal spa famed for its turquoise waters.
The meteorological office estimated that the volcano had opened a fissure about 4km long, with the southern end just 3km away from Grindavik.
By 3am yesterday, the meteorological office said the intensity of the eruption had stabilized, but was unable to estimate how long it would last.
“We now wait to see what the forces of nature have in store,” Icelandic President Gudni Thorlacius Johannesson wrote on social media.
He added that protecting lives and infrastructure was the priority.
Icelandic Department of Civil Protection head Vidir Reynisson urged people to stay away from the area, telling a local television station: “This is no tourist eruption.”
Despite fears prior to the eruption of the possible havoc it could cause global travel, Reykjavik’s international airport remained open.
“For the time being, no disruptions to arrivals or departures at Keflavik airport,” operator ISAVIA said.
Since October, thousands of earthquakes had been detected on the Reykjanes Peninsula, a possible precursor to an impending volcanic eruption. About 4,000 people were evacuated from Grindavik, a fishing port about 40km from Reykjavik, on Nov. 11 after scientists determined that a tunnel of magma was shifting beneath them.
Residents said the series of small earthquakes — sometimes hundreds per day — had damaged roads and buildings.
Since then, they have only been allowed to visit their homes during certain daylight hours.
Authorities have organized occasional trips into the village, escorting those with homes in the most perilous parts as they rescued everything from cherished pets to photograph albums, furniture and clothing.
Volcanic eruptions are not uncommon in Iceland, which is home to 33 active volcano systems, the highest number in Europe, but the Reykjanes Peninsula had not experienced an eruption for eight centuries until 2021.
Since then, three have struck, in 2021, last year and earlier this year — all in remote, uninhabited areas. Volcanologists say this could be the start of a new era of activity in the region.
Tunisian President Kais Saied yesterday condemned a European Parliament resolution on human rights calling for the release of his critics as “blatant interference.” The EU Parliament resolution, voted by an overwhelming majority the day before, called for the release of lawyer Sonia Dahmani, a popular critic of Saied, who was freed from prison on Thursday, but remained under judicial supervision. “The European Parliament [resolution] is a blatant interference in our affairs,” Saied said. “They can learn lessons from us on rights and freedoms.” Saied’s condemnation also came two days after he summoned the EU’s ambassador for “failing to respect diplomatic rules.” He also
Tropical Storm Koto killed three people and left another missing as it approached Vietnam, authorities said yesterday, as strong winds and high seas buffeted vessels off the country’s flood-hit central coast. Heavy rains have lashed Vietnam’s middle belt in recent weeks, flooding historic sites and popular holiday destinations, and causing hundreds of millions of dollars in damage. Authorities ordered boats to shore and diverted dozens of flights as Koto whipped up huge waves and dangerous winds, state media reported. Two vessels sank in the rough seas, a fishing boat in Khanh Hoa province and a smaller raft in Lam Dong, according to the
Sri Lanka made an appeal for international assistance yesterday as the death toll from heavy rains and floods triggered by Cyclone Ditwah rose to 123, with another 130 reported missing. The extreme weather system has destroyed nearly 15,000 homes, sending almost 44,000 people to state-run temporary shelters, the Sri Lankan Disaster Management Centre (DMC) said. DMC Director-General Sampath Kotuwegoda said relief operations had been strengthened with the deployment of thousands of troops from the country’s army, navy and air force. “We have 123 confirmed dead and another 130 missing,” Kotuwegoda told reporters in Colombo. Cyclone Ditwah was moving away from the island yesterday and
‘HEART IS ACHING’: Lee appeared to baffle many when he said he had never heard of six South Koreans being held in North Korea, drawing criticism from the families South Korean President Lee Jae-myung yesterday said he was weighing a possible apology to North Korea over suspicions that his ousted conservative predecessor intentionally sought to raise military tensions between the war-divided rivals in the buildup to his brief martial law declaration in December last year. Speaking to reporters on the first anniversary of imprisoned former South Korean president Yoon Suk-yeol’s ill-fated power grab, Lee — a liberal who won a snap presidential election following Yoon’s removal from office in April — stressed his desire to repair ties with Pyongyang. A special prosecutor last month indicted Yoon and two of his top
RSS