Eruption of Iceland Volcano Shows ‘Tremendous Forces of Nature’

A volcano in southwest Iceland erupted on Sunday morning, releasing lava flows that covered roads and reached an evacuated fishing village, where it set at least three homes on fire.

According to Iceland’s meteorological office, the eruption followed a series of earthquakes and caused 160-foot-high fountains of lava, inundating the town of Grindavík, reported The New York Times and The Washington Post.

President of Iceland Gudni Thorlacius Johannesson addressed the country regarding what he referred to as “tremendous forces of nature,” saying it had been half a century since lava had reached homes in the country.

“Lava is flowing into Grindavík, a thriving town where people have built their lives,” Johannesson said, as The Washington Post reported.

Grindavík is about 25 miles southwest of the country’s capital of Reykjavík.

Johannesson remarked on social media that, while the lava flows might pose a danger to infrastructures, they were not life-threatening, since the town had been evacuated. He also pointed out that there had been no flight interruptions.

Activity from the volcano has since eased, though the meteorological office said fresh fissures could appear with no warning, adding in a statement that it was “difficult to estimate how long this eruption will last,” reported Reuters.

The eruption began near another that happened last month. Authorities said one fissure from this eruption was at least 2,950 feet long, according to The Washington Post.

Kjartan Adolfsson, who is currently living in temporary housing in Reykjavík, commented that hopes of he and his neighbors returning home soon were fading.

“None of us knows what to think today,” Adolfsson said, as The New York Times reported.

Civil defense agency spokesperson Hjordis Gudmundsdottir said the eruption’s larger fissure sent a crack through Grindavík’s protective barriers.

Local officials said the barriers had saved the town from worse damage, reported The Washington Post.

“[T]he defense wall that was built is very successful,” Úlfar Lúðvíksson, police chief of Suðurnes, a region in South Iceland, told Iceland’s national broadcaster RUV on Monday.

The Red Cross has raised approximately $30,000 so far for residents of Grindavík, RUV said.

“We have seen an extremely strong response to the collection, better than we are used to seeing, so it is obvious that there are many people who want to help the residents now in these very difficult times,” said Red Cross press officer Oddur Freyr, as RUV reported.

The crack that had opened near Grindavík Sunday had calmed down by Monday, and lava coming from the larger fissure was slowing, Rikke Pedersen, daily manager of University of Iceland’s Nordic Volcanological Center, told Reuters.

The meteorological office said new cracks were possible in Grindavík in the coming days, as GPS measurements indicated that lava was still flowing underneath the town.

“Unfortunately (the lava) went a little bit more south than we had hoped for,” Vidir Reynisson, the country’s Department of Civil Protection and Emergency Management head, said during a press conference on Sunday, as reported by Reuters.

Police warned of unstable ground and dangerous gases near the spewing lava and encouraged people not to approach it on foot, The Washington Post said.