A volcano in southwestern Iceland that erupted for the second time in less than a month appeared to be significantly less active on Monday, despite signs that magma was still flowing underground. .
A front-page headline in the Icelandic daily Morgunbladid read “Black Day” alongside photos of bright orange lava fountains and burning houses in the town of Grindavik, about 40 kilometers southwest of the capital Reykjavik. Ta.
Volcanic activity has subsided since Sunday, but the eruption's epicenter remains a high-risk area and new fissures could open without warning, the Icelandic Meteorological Office said.
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“It is difficult to estimate how long this eruption will last,” the ministry said in a statement.
A flow of molten lava reached the outskirts of Grindavik around midday on Sunday, setting three houses ablaze, but the town had been evacuated in advance and there was no immediate danger to people.
A crack in the ground that opened near Grindavik on Sunday was no longer active on Monday, and lava production from a large crack north of the town was decreasing, volcanologist Lykke Pedersen told Reuters. told.
“Overnight there was a significant drop in activity,” she said.
GPS measurements show that magma continues to move in the southern area of the corridor beneath the town, the Metrological Office says, and new cracks may appear in Grindavik in the coming days. He added that there is.
This social media screenshot shows houses on fire as lava creeps into Grindavik, Iceland, on January 14, 2024. (Bjorn Steinbeck/@bsteinbekk via Instagram/via REUTERS)
This is the second eruption on the Reykjanes Peninsula in the past four weeks, and the fifth since 2021.
Live video footage on Monday showed orange lava still flowing to the surface, but in smaller amounts and farther from town.
“Unfortunately (the lava) has gone a little further south than we expected,” Vidir Reynisson, head of Iceland's Civil Protection and Emergency Management Agency, said at a news conference late Sunday.
Nevertheless, the defensive barrier built north of Grindavik helped keep the lava flow west and away from the town, Reynisson said.
Residents of Grindavik, a town of about 4,000 people before being evacuated in November, said it was difficult to watch footage of the fire on television.
“This is serious. It's basically the worst possible. It could be worse, but who knows,” evacuated resident John Gauti Dagjartsson said late Sunday.
“I actually live in the house I was born in, but it’s hard to think that this town might end and I might have to start over somewhere else. That's exactly what we do.'' “
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The Icelandic government was scheduled to meet on Monday to decide on support for Grindavik residents. Prime Minister Katrin Jakobsdóttir said: “We need to make great efforts to find more housing, suitable housing.”
