Pictures of Sunday’s eruption, taken from a Coast Guard helicopter and shared through Icelandic police officers, confirmed lava flowing at the flooring and lighting fixtures up the evening sky, achieving the neighborhood of roads and constructions. About an hour after the eruption started, officers mentioned, lava had reached inside 1,500 toes of Grindavik’s northernmost constructions.
In an interview with nationwide broadcaster RUV, seismologist Kristin Jonsdottir estimated that the lava would take hours to succeed in the city if it persisted to glide in the similar trail. “What issues is the place the lava is flowing. It is important to now to watch it,” she mentioned.
Officers estimated the eruption’s location as south-southeast of Hagafell and mentioned evacuations within the house have been underway.
In keeping with the meteorological place of job, earthquakes shook the world beginning round 3 a.m. on Sunday morning. Officers mentioned the extent of seismic process was once similar to that recorded forward of a Dec. 18 eruption, even supposing Sunday’s tremors have been farther south.
Iceland’s civil coverage company mentioned police started evacuating Grindavik citizens at 4 a.m., after government detected earthquakes and concluded that an eruption was once almost definitely drawing close. Government mentioned travelers within the close by Svartsengi house, the place Iceland’s well-known Blue Lagoon is positioned, have been evacuated.
On Sunday morning, Iceland raised the general public protection alert degree from “risk” to “emergency.”
