Iceland Volcano: Houses On Fire As Lava Spills Into Town

Houses have been set on fire in the Icelandic town of Grindavik after two volcanic fissures opened nearby.

A volcano on the Reykjanes peninsula erupted in the early hours of Sunday, spilling lava into the fishing town.

The eruption is proving to be “the worst case scenario” according to one expert, with the entire population of the town being evacuated.

Defences built after an eruption in December have partially contained the lava, but some have been breached.

The main road into the town has been cut off by the flow of lava.

Addressing the nation in a live broadcast on Sunday evening, Iceland’s President Gudni Johannesson urged people to “stand together and have compassion for those who cannot be in their homes”.

He said he hoped the situation would calm down, but that “anything can happen”, the AFP news agency reported.

Strong earthquake tremors preceded the December eruption in the Svartsengi volcanic system. In the weeks since, walls were built around the volcano to direct molten rock away from Grindavik, home to some 4,000 people.

The Icelandic Meteorological Office (IMO) said the barriers had been breached in some places, allowing lava to reach the town which then set houses and buildings on fire.

There was no indication of disruption to domestic or international flights following the eruption. The IMO’s aviation colour code for the Reykjanes peninsula was orange on Monday morning, indicating an ongoing eruption with “no or minor ash emission”.

Flights from nearby Keflavik Airport were operating as normal.

BBC