Once again, a volcanic eruption in Iceland has forced the evacuation of the city of Grindavik, located on the Reykjanes peninsula, after impressive rivers of lava began to gush out like fountains.
The Icelandic Meteorological Office said in a statement that the population in Grindavik had been evacuated shortly before the volcanic eruption began, which is the fifth to occur since December 2023; The last one had been registered just on March 16, 2024.
According to information from the authorities, the volcanic eruption began at 2:46 p.m. (local time) on May 29, and in videos that have been disseminated on social networks you can see the exact moment when an “eruptive fissure” opens, between 1 and 1.5 kilometers long, from where lava begins to erupt, which generated huge columns that looked like a source of fire.
A las 14.46 (hora peninsular) comenzaba una nueva erupción en la península de Reykjanes, en Islandia. La fisura eruptiva que se ha abierto está entre 1 y 1.5 kilómetros de longitud y como medida preventiva se ha decretado la evacuación de Grindavik.
📸: Vídeo cortesía de la RUV. pic.twitter.com/Dz0dDa7TBe
— Un geólogo en apuros (@geologoenapuros) May 29, 2024
The lava columns caused by the volcanic eruption reached great heights
This new eruption occurs just 20 days after the last volcanic activity of this type was declared over and once again the lava columns that reached up to 50 meters high were impressive.
The Icelandic Meteorological Office had already warned that intense seismic activity was again being recorded days before the new volcanic eruption occurred; That is why nearby towns, as well as the well-known Blue Lagoon spa, one of the biggest tourist attractions in Iceland, also had to be evacuated and the facilities remain closed until the emergency passes.
In addition, the accumulation of 20 million cubic meters of magma was reported in the magma chamber below Svartsengi, where a power plant is located that supplies electricity and water to some 30 thousand people on the peninsula.
⚡ #AHORA | Gran erupción volcánica en Islandia. pic.twitter.com/bBdboYeh5K
— Mundo en Conflicto 🌎 (@MundoEConflicto) May 29, 2024
The Svartsengi plant was evacuated and has been operating largely remotely since the first eruption in the region in December, and barriers have been built to protect it. Most of the 4,000 residents of the nearby town of Grindavik were permanently evacuated in November, before eruptions in December, January, February and March.
Recall that Iceland is renowned for its intense volcanic activity due to its location on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, where the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates are pulling apart. This geological phenomenon has given rise to one of the most volcanically active regions in the world.
This article was written in Spanish by Lizbeth García in Cultura Colectiva