© AP
After a volcano on Iceland’s Reykjanes peninsula erupted in full force on Monday evening, the intensity of those eruptions was much lower on Wednesday. Yet the danger has not passed: the lava can still rise to the surface for months.
So far, Iceland has been somewhat fortunate with how the eruption in southwestern Iceland is progressing. The released lava is still not flowing towards the evacuated village of Grindavik and the nearby power plant. In addition, Monday evening’s impressive lava fountains have given way to more modest lava splashes and activity has been reduced to two craters, down from three previously. “It’s clear that it’s less and less lava flow,” Halldor Geirsson of the University of Iceland’s Institute of Earth Sciences told Sky News.
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But the question remains what the future will bring. The Icelandic meteorological service IMO warns that the eruption is far from over and takes into account the formation of new fissures closer to Grindavik. Icelandic Foreign Minister Bjarni Benediktsson also says the eruption could continue for months.
According to him, the volcano erupted in “the right place”, without lava flowing into Grindavik. However, the four thousand evacuated residents of the fishing village will not be able to return home soon, the minister believes. The village would remain closed until December 28, while residents still hoped on Monday – before the eruption – that they would be able to celebrate Christmas at home.
According to Geirsson, the eruption could stop this weekend or next week, but the lava flows could also continue at a slower pace for weeks or months. “The most likely scenario is that it just stops. But if that happens, the pressure in the magma chamber will increase again, which may cause another eruption after a few weeks,” he says.
There is still no danger to air traffic, because no ash cloud has been released high in the air that could damage aircraft. But emissions from the volcano threaten to reach the capital Reykjavik, about forty kilometers away, and cause air pollution there, the IMO warns.
The police also have their hands full with disaster tourists who want to witness the eruption. The Icelanders themselves in particular are born ‘volcano freaks’ and gathered together on Monday evening to catch a glimpse of the natural spectacle.
© EPA-EFE
© EPA-EFE
The village of Grindavik on Tuesday, near the eruption. — © AFP