On the Reykjanes Peninsula Icelandabout 1.5 hours driving by car from Reykjavík, the volcano erupted. Emergency services evacuated the area. Earlier, a series of earthquakes were felt within a radius of four kilometers from the Sundhnúkur crater. It was the sixth eruption since December, when the volcano came to life after 800 years of inactivity.
According to the AP agency, the spectacle of the lava ejection attracts many people to the area. touristsbut for the residents of the peninsula, the volcanic activity is a serious problem. In the nearby town of Grindavik, with a population of just under four thousand, lava has already destroyed homes and infrastructure, and many people had to be evacuated.
On Thursday, many residents of the town were also evacuated. The lava stopped in the area, but strong winds carried toxic lava to Grindavik. gas. More than a thousand people – guests and employees – of the Blue Lagoon spa were also evacuated. The eruption did not affect air traffic. On Friday, lava continued to flow from the volcano, although somewhat less intensively.
The red glow looked like a fire
A Polish woman in Iceland was not far from the volcano on Thursday evening. As she told Gazeta.pl, she and her partner had planned to spend the night at a campsite in Grindavik, but it was already closed. – Around 10 p.m. we saw a big red glow in the sky that looked like a fire, and despite the cruel wind we went towards it. Nearby there was a hill on which several gawkers were standing, including a guy with binoculars. I asked him if he knew what had happened. He said it was a volcano and let us look through binoculars. What we thought were tongues of fire turned out to be gushing lava – says the Polish woman.
– We were surprised that no one was panicking. Calmness was also visible in the morning among the campsite employees and local residents. We heard that Icelanders have excellent experts, they are very well prepared for such situations, which – we believe – is evidenced by the campsite being closed many hours before the volcanic eruption – says Ms. Monika. – The airport published an assurance on its website that flights are not at risk, along with a film explaining what the eruption looks like and why it does not threaten air traffic. This calmed us down a lot – she adds.