Iceland in state of emergency after volcano erupts, fourth time in 3 months | Volcanoes

Icelandic police declared a state of emergency on Saturday as lava spewed from a brand new volcanic fissure on the Reykjanes Peninsula, the fourth eruption to hit the realm since December.

A “volcanic eruption has began between Stori-Skogfell and Hagafell on the Reykjanes Peninsula,” stated a press release from the Icelandic Meteorological Workplace (IMO). Dwell video photographs confirmed glowing lava and billowing smoke.

Iceland’s Division of Civil Safety and Emergency Administration introduced it had despatched a helicopter to slim down the precise location of the brand new fissure. The authority additionally stated the police had declared a state of emergency because of the eruption.

In line with the IMO, it occurred near the identical location as a earlier eruption on February 8. Lava appeared to circulate south in the direction of the dykes constructed to guard the fishing village Grindavik, it stated.

Simply after 22:00 GMT, “the southern lava entrance was simply 200 metres [656 feet] from the boundaries on the japanese aspect of Grindavik and transferring at a fee of about one km per hour”, it added.

Tons of of individuals had been evacuated from the Blue Lagoon thermal spa, considered one of Iceland’s prime vacationer points of interest, when the eruption started, nationwide broadcaster RUV stated.

No flight disruptions had been reported at close by Keflavik, Iceland’s major airport.

The eruption website is a couple of kilometres northeast of Grindavik, a coastal city of three,800 individuals about 50km (30 miles) southwest of Iceland’s capital, Reykjavik, that was evacuated earlier than the preliminary eruption in December. A number of residents who had returned to their houses had been evacuated once more on Saturday.

Grindavik was evacuated in November when the Svartsengi volcanic system woke up after virtually 800 years with a sequence of earthquakes that opened massive cracks within the floor north of the city.

The volcano finally erupted on December 18, sending lava flowing away from Grindavik. A second eruption that started on January 14 despatched lava in the direction of the city. Defensive partitions that had been bolstered after the primary eruption stopped among the circulate, however a number of buildings had been consumed by the lava.

Each eruptions lasted solely a matter of days. A 3rd eruption started February 8. It petered out inside hours, however not earlier than a river of lava engulfed a pipeline, chopping off warmth and sizzling water to 1000’s of individuals.

RUV quoted geophysicist Magnus Tumi Gudmundsson as saying that the newest eruption is probably the most highly effective to date. The IMO stated among the lava was flowing in the direction of the defensive boundaries round Grindavik.

Iceland, which sits above a volcanic sizzling spot within the North Atlantic, sees common eruptions and is extremely skilled at coping with them. Probably the most disruptive in current occasions was the 2010 eruption of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano, which spewed large clouds of ash into the ambiance and led to widespread airspace closures over Europe.

No confirmed deaths have been reported from any of the current eruptions, however a workman was declared lacking after falling right into a fissure opened by the volcano.