Iceland police have declared a state of emergency in southern Iceland, following another volcanic eruption in the Reykjanes Peninsula on Saturday, this is the fourth since December. Along with the fishing town of Grindavik, the famous tourist attraction, Blue Lagoon has been evacuated and shut down. As per Reuters, the Icelandic Meteorological Office (IMO) stated that the eruption began at 8:30 PM (GMT), with the fissure estimated to be about 2.9 kilometres long, about the same size as the last eruption in February.
A “volcanic eruption has started between Stora-Skogfell and Hagafell on the Reykjanes Peninsula,” the IMO stated. The site of the eruption between Hagafell and Stora-Skogfell was the same area as the previous outbreak on February 8, the IMO said.
According to BBC, two lava streams have formed, one which is moving west is heading in the direction of the Blue Lagoon one of Iceland’s most popular tourist attractions and a geothermal power plant, which provides hot water for most of the Reykjanes Peninsula.
The other is rapidly moving southward to the nearby Grindavik, a fishing town, where some of the approximately 4,000 residents had returned following earlier eruptions. The town was once again being evacuated, as reported by Reuters, citing Iceland’s public broadcaster RUV.
Iceland erupts for the fourth time in 3 months. Biggest eruption of them all, lava estimated to reach the Atlantic Ocean later today if this continues at current speed. Sharing is caring but if you don’t tag me in reposts the lava God will be mad! pic.twitter.com/vAt77ObiwX
— Bjorn Steinbekk (@BSteinbekk) March 17, 2024
In a previous eruption in January, several homes in Grindavik were burned to the ground.
According to a report by BBC, the lava moving west is heading in the direction of the Blue Lagoon one of Iceland’s most popular tourist attractions and a geothermal power plant, which provides hot water for most of the Reykjanes Peninsula.
The lava flowing west is moving toward the Blue Lagoon, one of Iceland’s most popular tourist attractions, as well as a geothermal power plant that supplies hot water for much of the Reykjanes Peninsula, reported BBC.
Reykjavik’s Keflavik Airport remains open for both arrivals and departures.
Authorities had been issuing warnings for weeks regarding an imminent eruption on the Reykjanes peninsula, situated just south of Iceland’s capital, Reykjavik.
“This was definitely expected,” said Rikke Pedersen, head of the Nordic Volcanological Centre, as per Reuters. “Of course, the exact time of the eruption is impossible to predict. The first cues of this moving towards the surface actually only happened about 15 minutes in advance,” she added.
Volcanic outbreaks in the Reykjanes peninsula are typically fissure eruptions, which tend not to cause large explosions or significant dispersal of ash into the stratosphere, as per Reuters.
Scientists are concerned that these eruptions could persist for decades, prompting Icelandic authorities to commence the construction of dykes to divert flowing lava away from residential areas and vital infrastructure.
During the eruption in February, more than 20,000 people lost access to district heating as lava flows damaged roads and pipelines. Iceland has 33 active volcano systems, the highest number in Europe.