Lava gushing from a volcano in Iceland seemed streaming far from the only close-by town and the strength of the eruption was dropping, providing hope that homes would be safe despite the fact that seismic activity might last months, authorities stated on Tuesday.
The federal government stated flights were not likely to be impacted, quashing worldwide travel issues remaining after mayhem that arised from the ash cloud triggered by an eruption on the north Atlantic island in 2010.
A view of lava after volcano eruption situated near to Sundhnukagigar, about 4 kilometers northeast of Grindavik town of Reykjanes peninsula, Iceland on December 19, 2023.
Iceland Police Department|Anadolu|Getty Images
The eruption late on Monday on the Reykjanes peninsula in southwest Iceland gushed lava and smoke more than 100 metres (330 feet) into the air after weeks of extreme seismic activity.
“The eruption does not present a threat to life,” a federal government declaration stated. “There are no disruptions to flights to and from Iceland and international flight corridors remain open.”
Local resident watch smoke ripple as the lava colour the night sky orange from an volcanic eruption on the Reykjanes peninsula 3 km north of Grindavik, western Iceland on December 19, 2023.
Kristin Elisabet Gunnarsdottir|AFP|Getty Images
Authorities last month left the almost 4,000 occupants of the fishing town of Grindavik about 40 km (25 miles) southwest of capital city Reykjavik, enabling them back periodically to examine homes jeopardized by the tremblings.
Kristin Maria Birgisdottir, 43, a Grindavik citizen who has actually been left becauseNov 10, initially had a difficult time thinking it when the volcano appeared. “Everything happened so fast,” statedBirgisdottir “I had already put my kids to sleep, and I was already in bed when I saw someone posted that it had erupted. I took a screenshot, and thought to myself that it was a bad joke.” “We are just waiting for somebody to wake us up or to say cut, the filming is over, because it’s so unreal. It’s hard to believe this is happening,” she later on included.
Live video of the eruption revealed brilliant yellow, orange and red lava in sharp contrast versus the sky.
A regional resident watch smoke ripple as the lava colour the night sky orange from an volcanic eruption on the Reykjanes peninsula 3 km north of Grindavik, western Iceland on December 18, 2023.
Kristin Elisabet Gunnarsdottir|AFP|Getty Images
Some travelers feared at the phenomenon. “Our BnB hosts sent us a message that the volcano has erupted,” a traveler from the Netherlands who provided his name as Wouter stated. “It’s a once in a lifetime for us so we don’t want to miss that … It’s a bit far from here, but you can still see some lava coming up, for us this is amazing.”
The eruption opened a 4 km (2.5 mile) crack. But at its southernmost point, the fracture was still 3 km far from Grindavik, Iceland’s Meteorological Office stated, and the power of the volcano was reducing.
“The eruption is taking place north of the watershed, so lava does not flow towards Grindavik,” geologist Bjorn Oddson informed public broadcaster RUV.
Gas contamination might still take place in the location of Reykjavik late on Tuesday or Wednesday early morning, authorities stated.
Blue lagoon
Located in between the Eurasian and North American tectonic plates, amongst the biggest in the world, Iceland is a seismic location since the plates relocate opposite instructions.
Visitors delight in the last days of the Blue Lagoon before it closes due to a possible volcanic eruption on November 7, 2023 in Grindavik,Iceland (Photo by Micah Garen/Getty Images)
Micah Garen|Getty Images
The eruption has to do with 30 km fromReykjavik Keflavik worldwide airport is rather nearer however stays open. The Blue Lagoon, a geothermal day spa popular with travelers, has actually been mainly closed because the seismic activity was identified.
“It could potentially go on for several months. It could also just stop later today or tomorrow,” stated Halldor Geirson, an associate teacher at Institute of Earth Sciences at the University of Iceland.
Lava streams had actually reduced from 200-250 cubic meters per second in the very first 2 hours of the eruption to around a quarter of that by Tuesday early morning.
Most of the lava was streaming into a location where there was little facilities, Geirson stated. That might alter.
Smoke increases as a volcano emerges along Route 41 in the Reykjanes Peninsula, Iceland December 19, 2023.
Sigurdur Mar Davidsson|Reuters
“There is still a threat to Grindavik, for sure. Now the lava is flowing mostly to the north, but it depends on the topography and where the openings are,” he stated.
In 2010, ash clouds from eruptions at the Eyafjallajokull volcano in the south of Iceland spread over big parts of Europe, grounding some 100,000 flights in Europe and beyond, and requiring numerous Icelanders to leave their homes.
Weather forecasting service AccuWeather stated this eruption was extremely various.
“If little to no volcanic ash is lofted into the atmosphere, there may be no impact to aviation,” AccuWeather Chief Meteorologist Jon Porter stated.
The 2010 effect on flight was mainly triggered by the interaction of lava with the melting water from a glacier, a various circumstance to what is taking place now.
Matthew Watson, teacher of volcanoes and environment at the University of Bristol in Britain, stated it was “not impossible that there may be some impact on air travel”, although it was not likely. “This type of eruption doesn’t generally produce much ash, which is what tends to ground planes.”
Chistmas far from home
“Unfortunately, the hope that had ignited in the hearts of many about the possibility of celebrating Christmas at home in Grindavik was extinguished when the eruption began yesterday,” Grindavik Mayor Fannar Jonasson stated in a declaration attending to citizens.
Hans Vera, 56, initially from Belgium however residing in a home simply east of Grindavik because 1999, had actually hoped citizens would be enabled to return for excellent, or as long as is possible on a volcanic island. That all altered when the eruption lastly got here.
A view of lava after volcano eruption situated near to Sundhnukagigar, about 4 kilometers northeast of Grindavik town of Reykjanes peninsula, Iceland on December 19, 2023.
Iceland Police Department|Anadolu|Getty Images
“I don’t see that in the near future they will let people get close to Grindavik. So we are back in the waiting game,” he stated.
He explained his home near the sea as a winter season paradise, and stated the possibility of not having the ability to invest the Christmas vacations there with his household came as a blow.
“We are not going to paradise this time around.”
