lava flows into town during volcanic eruption

The 2010 eruption of Heimaey, Iceland, has not been affected by the ash buried in the last 30 days and no disruptions to infrastructure

The ongoing eruption is the most impactful in Iceland since 1973, when a volcano erupted on the southern island of Heimaey and buried most of its town in lava and ash. The eruption of the volcano Eyjafjallajkull in 2010 caused ash to fall over Europe for several days.

The president of the country, Guni Th. Jhannesson, stated in a speech on Sunday that there was an “aunting period of upheaval” for those who lived on the Reykjanes peninsula.

The newest eruption started on a newly opened fissure in the ground, northeast of the town. The berms were successful in channelling most of those flows away from Grindavík. But a second, smaller fissure also opened much closer to the town and sent lava directly into it. The town’s 4,000 residents had been evacuated and no one has been hurt.

There are no disruptions or threats to infrastructure so far. At least three homes have either burned down or been overtaken by lava, according to the Icelandic broadcaster RUV.

Lvk Ptursson’s latest eruption and the onset of a new phase of volcanic activity on the Reykjanes Peninsula

Jhannesson sympathized with the people of Lvk Pétursson, a man who went missing in a work accident last week.

According to Sky News, the 50-year-old Pétursson was filling crevasses formed by volcanic activity and earthquakes when he fell in a crack that had opened after last month’s eruption.

The latest eruptions are the fifth such event since 2021 on the Reykjanes Peninsula, which lies southwest of the capital city of Reykjavík. The activity may be the start of a new phase of eruptions. Before 2021 the last time this area was active, in a period called the Reykjanes Fires in the early 13th century, lava flows reached as far as what are now the suburbs of Reykjavík, as well as the ring road that connects Iceland’s international airport to the rest of the country.