Iceland Volcano Erupts in Plumes of Fire With Little Notice

A volcano erupted with little notice in southern Iceland on Saturday 
night, the latest in a string of eruptions in the area, threatening local 
infrastructure and leading the authorities to declare a state of 
emergency.

Lava fountains burst out of the ground, and a nearly two-mile-long fissure 
opened up on the Reykjanes Peninsula around 8:30 p.m., the Icelandic 
Meteorological Office said. The eruption occurred near the town of 
Grindavik, the Svartsengi Power Plant and the Blue Lagoon, one of 
Iceland’s most famous tourist attractions.

The meteorological office said that it had received indications of a 
possible eruption only about 40 minutes before it happened. The office 
sent out its first warning moments before the eruption began.

The Blue Lagoon and Grindavik were evacuated shortly after the eruption, 
according to RUV, the national broadcaster. Grindavik has a population of 
about 4,000, but few residents were in the town at the time. About 700 
visitors were staying at the Blue Lagoon.

On Sunday morning, Hjordis Gudmundsdottir, a spokeswoman for the 
Department of Civil Protection and Emergency Management, told reporters 
that the biggest risk was to two pipes that carried hot water from the 
geothermal Svartsengi Power Plant to homes on the peninsula.

Shortly after midnight, lava flowed over a road toward a water 
distribution pipe from the power plant, according to an update from the 
Icelandic Meteorological Office at 1 p.m. local time.

The lava has not moved much since Sunday morning, and it was about 200 
meters from the pipe. Response workers were monitoring the speed of the 
lava, which has been “slow and steady since this morning,” the office 
said.

The eruption was most likely the biggest of the seven that have occurred 
across the Reykjanes Peninsula since 2021, including four since December, 
the civil protection agency said in a statement. Before that, the 
peninsula had laid dormant for 800 years.

Meteorologists have expressed concerns that if the lava continues at the 
same rate, it could flow into the North Atlantic. Contact between lava and 
water can create small explosions and dangerous gases.

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/17/world/europe/iceland-volcano-
eruption.html