Iceland’s president said that the country is battling “tremendous forces of nature” after lava from a volcano consumed houses in the evacuated town of Grindavik as scientists said that the eruption appeared to be dying down. As experts declared that the danger is over, Iceland president Gudni Th. Johannesson said that “a daunting period of upheaval has begun on the Reykjanes peninsula”. A long-dormant volcanic system has awakened, he said after the volcano erupted for the second time in less than a month near the fishing town of Grindavik.
What's happening in Grindavik after the eruption?
Authorities had earlier ordered residents to leave as multiple small earthquakes indicated an imminent eruption in the region. Grindavik was previously evacuated in November when the Svartsengi volcanic system awakened after almost 800 years. The volcano erupted on December 18, sending lava flowing away from Grindavik.
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Emergency workers spent the time after that to build defensive walls that have stopped much of the lava flow from the new eruption near the town.
What Iceland's president said on the volcano eruption?
Iceland's president said, “We don’t yet know how this eruption will unfold, but we must still take those actions that are within our power. We will carry on with our responsibilities and we will continue to stand together. We continue to hope for as good an outcome as possible, in the face of these tremendous forces of nature."
Iceland sits above a volcanic hot spot in the North Atlantic owing to which the country witnesses an eruption every four to five years. The most disruptive in recent times was in 2010 eruption when Eyjafjallajokull volcano spewed clouds of ash into the atmosphere and disrupted trans-Atlantic air travel for several months.
{{/usCountry}}Iceland sits above a volcanic hot spot in the North Atlantic owing to which the country witnesses an eruption every four to five years. The most disruptive in recent times was in 2010 eruption when Eyjafjallajokull volcano spewed clouds of ash into the atmosphere and disrupted trans-Atlantic air travel for several months.
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