A volcano on the Reykjanes peninsula in southwestern Iceland erupted Thursday for the third time since December, spewing lava streams as much as 80 meters (260 ft) into the air.
Video footage of the crack within the earth’s floor, estimated to be three kilometers (two miles) lengthy, confirmed the fissure illuminating a plume of smoke rising into the darkish morning sky that may very well be seen 40 kilometers (25 miles) away within the capital, Reykjavik.
Vibrant orange molten rock spewed from fissures within the floor on the Reykjanes peninsula, and lava crossed a highway close to the Blue Lagoon, a luxurious geothermal spa, which needed to be closed due to the eruption.
Eruption cuts off scorching water
Iceland’s Division of Civil Safety and Emergency Administration declared a state of emergency after lava flowed over a pipe carrying geothermal water used to warmth houses within the space, inflicting the pipe to burst.
Rikke Pedersen, who heads the analysis group on the Nordic Volcanological Heart in Reykjavik, mentioned greater than 20,000 individuals had misplaced entry to scorching water. Reykjavik’s Keflavik Airport additionally misplaced entry to scorching water, however mentioned it was in any other case working as ordinary.
The civil safety authority urged individuals within the affected space to make use of just one small electrical heater per family to keep away from energy outages. Restoring scorching water by way of an emergency pipeline already underneath development may take days, it mentioned.
New period of seismic exercise
Iceland is dwelling to 33 lively volcanic programs, the very best quantity in Europe. It straddles the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, a crack within the ocean ground that separates the Eurasian tectonic plate from the North American tectonic plate.
However till March 2021, the Reykjanes peninsula had not skilled an eruption in eight centuries.
The final eruption within the space started on January 14 and lasted about two days. Lava flows reached the outskirts of the fishing city of Grindavik, the place practically 4,000 residents have been evacuated and a few houses have been set on fireplace.
dh/wd (AFP, dpa, Reuters)
