While Monday’s eruption was not unexpected, it was larger than volcanologists had been predicting and took place not far from an evacuated town and a power plant.
While Monday’s eruption was not unexpected, it was larger than volcanologists had been predicting and took place not far from an evacuated town and a power plant.
From what I understand, it's just that Iceland is a geologically active zone and had earthquakes and volcanoes for centuries. So they are pretty much used to it. They also make some positive use of it by harnessing geothermal energy (from what I've heard).
The location of the fissure, which is some 2.5 miles long and growing quickly, is not far from the Svartsengi Power Plant and the town of Grindavík, which was evacuated last month because of heightened seismic activity, leading to concerns than an eruption was likely.
In the initial assessment Monday night, volcanologists had said that the eruption had occurred in one of the worst possible locations, posing a significant and immediate threat to both the evacuated town and the geothermal power plant.
Lava is currently flowing just 2.5 kilometers north of Grindavík, or 1.6 miles, according to Kristín Jonsdottir, the head of the volcanic activity department at the Icelandic Meteorological Office.
However large the eruption, with the town of Grindavík evacuated, it currently poses no risk to people, a police official, Ulfar Ludviksson, told reporters.
The Blue Lagoon, one of Iceland’s top tourist destinations and located nearby, had reopened for guests on Sunday as concern that an eruption was imminent had diminished.
The authorities raised the aviation alert to orange, because a volcanic eruption could pose a risk to aircraft flying in the North Atlantic if ash spewed into the sky.
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