A volcanic eruption restarted in Iceland, with lava flow threatening the already severely damaged fishing town Grindavik.
An eruption — the eighth on the same volcanic rift since late 2023 — started at 9:45am yesterday “just north of the protective barrier by Grindavik,” the Met Office said in a statement.
The eruptive rift reached behind the protective barriers that have saved the town in the most recent incidents, it said.
Photo: AP
Reykjavik, which lies about 40km away, has been unaffected by the recent outbursts, and air traffic at nearby Keflavik international airport is not expected to be disrupted.
The area on the southwest peninsula has awakened after an 800-year dormancy, first with seismic activity in 2020 followed by an intensifying sequence of lava outbursts. The molten rock is emerging from rifts in the ground, producing steady flows but forming little ash.
Earthquakes and deadly cracks have caused widespread damage to fishing town Grindavik, which used to be home to about 1 percent of the Icelandic nation.
Lava has claimed three houses in a previous eruption, but earth barriers built around the town have managed to steer most of the lava flow away from buildings. Some residents have continued to live in the town, fleeing as each eruption has begun.
“The length of the magma dyke under the Sundhnuksgigar Crater Row that has already formed is about 11km long, which is the longest it has been measured since November 11, 2023,” the Met Office said.
The volume of magma in the area is the largest since the eruption sequence began at the end of that year, it said last month.
The scientists will look at the eruption from a helicopter to map out its exact location, it said.
On Monday, 40 of the town’s about 1,100 homes were occupied and have since been evacuated, broadcaster RUV said, citing local police.
Other infrastructure in the area includes the Svartsengi power plant owned by HS Orka hf and a number of businesses centered around geothermal heat and power. Iceland’s top tourist attraction, the Blue Lagoon, is also nearby. Those assets have been spared damage, but roads, and water and electricity pipes have required repeated repairs.
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