- By Ruth Comerford
- BBC News
Watch: Volcano lava sets house on fire in Iceland
Houses have been set on fire in the Icelandic town of Grindavik after two volcanic fissures opened nearby.
A volcano on the Reykjanes peninsula erupted in the early hours of Sunday, spilling lava into the fishing town.
The eruption is proving to be “the worst case scenario” according to one expert, with the entire population of the town being evacuated.
Defences built after an eruption in December have partially contained the lava, but some have been breached.
The main road into the town has been cut off by the flow of lava. On Monday, Icelandic authorities said the flow of molten rock appeared to have slowed.
Addressing the nation in a live broadcast on Sunday evening, Iceland’s President Gudni Johannesson urged people to “stand together and have compassion for those who cannot be in their homes”.
He said he hoped the situation would calm down, but that “anything can happen”, the AFP news agency reported.
Strong earthquake tremors preceded the December eruption in the Svartsengi volcanic system. In the weeks since, walls were built around the volcano to direct molten rock away from Grindavik, home to some 4,000 people.
The Icelandic Meteorological Office (IMO) said the barriers had been breached in some places, allowing lava to reach the town which then set houses and buildings on fire.
There was no indication of disruption to domestic or international flights following the eruption. The IMO’s aviation colour code for the Reykjanes peninsula was orange on Monday morning, indicating an ongoing eruption with “no or minor ash emission”.
Flights from nearby Keflavik Airport were operating as normal.
A volcano spews lava and smoke as it erupts in Reykjanes Peninsula
People who had returned to Grindavik, in south-west Iceland, after the previous eruption were forced to leave their homes once again.
“Seeing your home burn down on live television is something you cannot easily handle,” Unndpr Sigurthsson, whose family house was destroyed, told MBL. She said her family had left almost all their items when they were evacuated, leaving them only with clothes and essential items.
Volcanologist Evgenia Ilyinskaya told BBC Breakfast that the peninsula was likely entering a period of frequent eruptions, known as the New Reykjanes Fires.
Prof Ilyinskaya said eruptions could take place “every few months or once a year for several decades or several centuries.”
The Reykjanes Fires were a series of intense volcanic activity on the peninsula in the 12th Century.
Prime Minister Katrin Jakobsdottir said the government will be meeting on Monday to discuss housing measures for the evacuated residents.
“Today is a black day for Grindavik and today is a black day for all of Iceland, but the sun will rise again,” she said.
“Together we will deal with this shock and whatever may come. Our thoughts and prayers are with you.”
Lava spreads across the Reykjanes peninsula
The country’s alert level has been raised to “emergency” – the highest of the three-level scale which signals there could be a threat of harm to people, communities, property or the environment.
Sunday’s eruption is the fifth to have taken place along the Reykjanes peninsula since 2021.
Iceland sits over what’s known as the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, the boundary between the Eurasian and North American tectonic plates – two of the largest on the planet. Iceland has 33 active volcano systems.
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