A Volcano In Iceland Is Erupting Again, Spewing Lava And Cutting Heat And Hot Water Supplies

GRINDAVIK, Iceland — A volcano in southwestern Iceland erupted for the third time since December on Thursday, spewing lava into the sky, forcing the evacuation of the famed Blue Lagoon geothermal spa and cutting off heat and hot water to thousands of people.

The eruption occurred around 0600 GMT (1 a.m. EST) along a three-kilometre (nearly two-mile) fissure northeast of Mount Sýlingarfell, according to Iceland’s Meteorological Office. A lava flood overtook a supply conduit, cutting off heat and hot water to several settlements on the Reykjanes Peninsula.

The Met Office said that the eruption’s severity had diminished by mid-afternoon, but lava continued to spew from parts of the fissure, and a massive plume of steam rose over a segment of the breach where magma mingled with groundwater.

The eruption site is around 4 kilometres (2½ miles) northeast of Grindavik, a seaside village of 3,800 people evacuated before the previous eruption on December 18. The Meteorological Office stated there was no immediate threat to the town on Thursday.

A Volcano In Iceland Is Erupting Again, Spewing Lava And Cutting Heat And Hot Water Supplies

Civil defence officials said no one was believed to be in Grindavik during the latest eruption. “They weren’t meant to be, and we don’t know about any,” Iceland’s Civil Defence head, Víðir Reynisson, said to national television RUV.

According to the Civil Defence agency, lava entered a pipeline from the Svartsengi geothermal power station that delivers hot water to many villages on the Reykjanes Peninsula for home heating. Authorities urged families to use hot water and power sparingly as workmen raced to install an underground water conduit as a backup. Schools, gymnasiums, and swimming pools were closed due to a lack of heat and water.

The Blue Lagoon thermal spa, constructed using excess water from the power plant, was closed when the eruption began, and all tourists were safely evacuated, according to RUV. A stream of steaming lava later flowed across the spa’s exit road.

There were no reported flight problems at Iceland’s largest airport, Keflavik, although hot water was turned off, according to airport operator Isavia.

A Volcano In Iceland Is Erupting Again, Spewing Lava And Cutting Heat And Hot Water Supplies

The Icelandic Met Office warned earlier this week that an eruption was possible after three weeks of monitoring a buildup of magma, or semi-molten rock, below ground. Hundreds of minor earthquakes had been recorded in the vicinity since Friday, culminating in a burst of severe seismic activity around 30 minutes before the latest eruption began.

The Icelandic coast guard released a dramatic video showing lava fountains leaping over 50 metres (165 feet) into the darkening air. A vapour plume rose around 3 kilometres (1½ miles) above the volcano.

Iceland, which sits above a volcanic hotspot in the North Atlantic, experiences an eruption every four to five years. The most recent disruption was the 2010 eruption of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano, which blasted massive ash clouds into the stratosphere and resulted in widespread airspace closures across Europe.

Dave McGarvie, a volcanologist who has studied extensively in Iceland, said the “gentle, effusive” eruption is unlikely to hinder aviation because such volcanoes create very little ash.

Grindavik, located about 50 kilometres (30 miles) southwest of Iceland’s capital, Reykjavik, was evacuated in November after the Svartsengi volcanic system erupted after nearly 800 years with a series of earthquakes that produced enormous breaches in the ground north of the town.

The volcano eventually erupted on December 18, spewing lava away from Grindavik. A second eruption, which began on January 14, drove lava towards the settlement. The town’s ground has sunk by up to 1½ metres (4½ feet) due to magma movement, despite defensive walls that had been strengthened since the previous eruption.

No definite deaths have been reported, although a worker is missing after sliding into a rift created by the volcano.

Both prior eruptions lasted only a few days but heralded “a daunting period of upheaval” on Iceland’s Reykjanes Peninsula, one of its most densely populated areas.

McGarvie said it is unknown whether Grindavik inhabitants can return permanently.

A Volcano In Iceland Is Erupting Again, Spewing Lava And Cutting Heat And Hot Water Supplies

“I think at the moment there is the resignation, the stoical resignation, that, for the foreseeable future, the town is basically uninhabitable,” he said.

After centuries of silence, “people thought this area was fairly safe.”

“It’s been a bit of a shock that it has come back to life,” he said. “Evidence that we gathered only quite recently is that eruptions could go on for decades, if not centuries, sporadically in this particular peninsula.”

SOURCE – (AP)