Volcanic Eruption Starts Again In Iceland’s Southwest Corner

(Bloomberg) --Iceland is facing its seventh volcanic eruption in less than a year as lava is again gushing from the ground near a devastated southwestern fishing town.

Lava burst to the surface just after 11 p.m. local time on Wednesday, according to the Met Office. This eruption is significantly smaller than last time, geologist Kristin Jonsdottir said by phone on Thursday morning.

“It started with intense activity for about few hours and then decreased rapidly,” she said.

The event was expected as the volcano has been showing similar signs of expansion as in the preludes to previous eruptions. It has been closely monitored by scientists since the Reykjanes peninsula woke from an 800-year dormancy in 2021. Scientists have warned that the area may endure repeated eruptions for the next months or years.

“There is still inflow of magma beneath Svartsengi and that tells us there is risk of more future eruptions,” Jonsdottir said. “Currently there is nothing that tells us that this unrest phase is about to be over.”

As in previous fissure outbursts in the area, flights have not been interrupted at the main airport, located around 17 kilometers (10.6 miles) from the site.

Iceland is one of the world’s volcanic hot spots due to its position on the mid-Atlantic ridge where the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates rift apart. The current volcanic activity is the most destructive in half a century and marks a new era of fiery outbursts in the north Atlantic island nation.

About 50 houses had occupants in the fishing town of Grindavik when the eruption started, according to the civil protection authorities. They’ve been evacuated and no lives are currently at risk.

Lava is flowing toward north and west, away from the town.

Previous eruptions and associated earthquakes have severely damaged the town, with lava earlier claiming three houses and deadly cracks forming in the ground. A worker is believed to have died after falling into a crevasse earlier this year.

Most inhabitants of the town, which used to house about 1% of the population, have fled.

Roads and pipelines have repeatedly needed to be rebuilt after being run over by flowing lava and the authorities have constructed extensive barriers which have been successful at steering the lava flow away from the town.

Other infrastructure in the area include the Svartsengi power plant owned by HS Orka hf and a number of businesses centered around geothermal heat and power as well as Iceland’s top tourist attraction, the Blue Lagoon.