UPDATE: Sunday, Mar 17, 2024 · 7:24:38 PM +00:00
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Irontortoise
Good news, from the LA Times:
Lava from a volcanic eruption in Iceland flowed Sunday toward defenses around the town of Grindavik, which have so far held the molten rock back from the evacuated community.
Scientists said the eruption appeared to be weakening and would probably taper off within hours.
For the fourth time in the last three months, a volcanic fissure nearly two miles long on Iceland’s Reykjanes Peninsula near the coastal town of Grindavik (population ~3800, located about 30 miles SW of the capital, Reykjavik) has roared back to life with its largest eruption yet on Saturday night.
Grindavik had been evacuated back in November before the first eruption began when it became clear the Svartsengi volcanic system that had lain dormant for some 800 years was coming back to life, and a few residents who had managed to return after the last eruption on February 8 had to be evacuated once again, along with hundreds of tourists and staff at the famed Blue Lagoon thermal spa. From the AP report:
RUV [the Icelandic national broadcaster] quoted geophysicist Magnús Tumi Guðmundsson as saying that the latest eruption is the most powerful so far. The Met Office said some of the lava was flowing towards the defensive barriers around Grindavik.
Iceland, which sits above a volcanic hot spot in the North Atlantic, sees regular eruptions and is highly experienced at dealing with them. The most disruptive in recent times was the 2010 eruption of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano, which spewed huge clouds of ash into the atmosphere and led to widespread airspace closures over Europe.
No confirmed deaths have been reported from any of the recent eruptions, but a workman was declared missing after falling into a fissure opened by the volcano.
So far air flights into and out of the main airport at Keflavik remain unaffected — but do check out the full AP story for some truly awesome photos and video of the current eruption.