Volcano erupts in Iceland, flowing lava reaches fishing town, sets homes on fire
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Lava explosions are seen near residential buildings in the Icelandic town of Grindavik.
PHOTO: AFP
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REYKJAVIK - A volcano erupted in south-west Iceland on Jan 14, with molten lava flows reaching the outskirts of a small fishing town by mid-afternoon, setting some houses alight, although the town was evacuated earlier and no people were in danger, authorities said.
Fountains of molten rock and smoke spewed from fissures in the ground across a wide area stretching to the town of Grindavik, where at least one house had caught fire, live video published by daily Morgunbladid showed.
“No lives are in danger, although infrastructure may be under threat,” Iceland’s President Gudni Johannesson said on social media site X, adding there had been no interruptions to flights.
The eruption began early on Jan 14 north of the town, which just hours before had been evacuated for the second time since November over fears that an outbreak was imminent amid a swarm of seismic activity, authorities said.
Authorities built barriers of earth and rock in recent weeks to try to prevent lava from reaching Grindavik, some 40km south-west of the capital Reykjavik, but the latest eruption have penetrated the town’s defences.
The nearby geothermal spa Blue Lagoon had closed on Jan 14, it said on its website.
Volcanic hotspot
It was the second volcanic eruption on the Reykjanes peninsula in south-west Iceland in less than one month and the fifth outbreak since 2021.
In December, an eruption started in the Svartsengi volcanic system on Dec 18 following the complete evacuation a month earlier of Grindavik’s 4,000 residents
More than 100 Grindavik residents had returned in recent weeks, before Jan 13’s renewed evacuation order, according to local authorities.
An industrial complex is seen in the foreground as lava flows, near the Icelandic town of Grindavik.
PHOTO: AFP
Iceland, which is roughly the size of the US state of Kentucky, boasts more than 30 active volcanoes, making the north European island a prime destination for volcano tourism - a niche segment that attracts thousands of thrill seekers.
In 2010, ash clouds from eruptions at the Eyafjallajokull volcano in the south of Iceland
Unlike Eyafjallajokull, the Reykjanes volcano systems are not trapped under glaciers and are thus not expected to cause similar ash clouds. REUTERS
Media and emergency personnel watch as flowing lava approaches a road on the outskirts of the Icelandic town of Grindavik.
PHOTO: AFP
