- Title: Grindavik town is in danger, says expert as volcano erupts in Iceland again
- Date: 1st April 2025
- Summary: REYKJAVIK, ICELAND (APRIL 1, 2025) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) LEADER OF THE NORDIC VOLCANOLOGICAL CENTRE AT THE UNIVERSITY OF ICELAND, RIKKE PEDERSEN, SAYING: “Grindavik was of course evacuated immediately when the dyke started to propagate, so when we saw the initial seismicity. And also the Blue Lagoon, people staying in that area, all were evacuated quite rapidly.
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- Keywords: Volcano drone earthquake geology helicopter nature science smoke volcanic
- Location: REYKJAVIK AND NEAR GRINDAVIK, REYKJANES, ICELAND
- City: REYKJAVIK AND NEAR GRINDAVIK, REYKJANES, ICELAND
- Country: Iceland
- Topics: Disaster/Accidents,Europe,Earthquakes/Volcanoes/Tsunami
- Reuters ID: LVA006333501042025RP1
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: A volcano erupted again to the south of Iceland's capital on Tuesday (April 1), spewing lava and smoke in a fiery display of orange and red that triggered some evacuations.
The leader of the Nordic Volcanological Centre at the University of Iceland, Rikke Pedersen, said the eruption, which at the moment appeared to be smaller than previously, was close to the fishing town of Grindavik.
She said there was danger of lava flows entering inhabited areas.
“The problem is a part of the fracture actually opened up inside the barriers protecting the town. And as this is very early on in the eruption, we do not know if this is the final length of the eruptive fracture,” she said.
Referred to as a land of ice and fire for its many glaciers and volcanoes, the North Atlantic island nation has now seen 11 eruptions south of Reykjavik since 2021, when dormant geological systems reactivated after some 800 years.
Emergency services evacuated the nearby Blue Lagoon luxury spa as well as inhabitants from Grindavik in the hours ahead of the outbreak, as geologists had warned that the eruption was imminent, public broadcaster RUV reported.
The outbreaks on the Reykjanes peninsula so far have not directly affected the capital city and have not caused significant dispersal of ash into the stratosphere, avoiding air traffic disruption.
Icelandic experts predict that the so-called fissure eruptions, characterised by lava flowing out of long cracks in the earth's crust rather than a single volcanic opening, could repeat themselves for decades or even centuries.
An eruption in January 2024 damaged homes and roads in Grindavik, triggering a mass evacuation at the time although some inhabitants have since returned.
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