Iceland evacuates Blue Lagoon in the middle of the volcano eruption – DW – 04/01/2025

Iceland evacuated the city of Grindavik and the Blue Lagoon near Tuesday while a volcano began to spit lava – the eighth eruption to hit the region since the end of 2023.

The Icelandic weather office (IMO) said that “an eruption started on the crater row of Sundhnuksgigar” in the north of the Grindavik fishing village.

“The crack now measures about 500 meters (yards) long and has reached the protective barrier north of Grindavík ”, he said in a statement.” The crack continues to grow, and it cannot be excluded that it can continue to open to the south. ”

The Icelandic authorities began the evacuations on Tuesday morning after the magma flows and a series of small earthquakes in the region indicated that the volcano would soon broke.

A land of ice and fire

People living in around forty houses in the city of Grindavik, which is near the volcano of the Reykjanes peninsula, was invited to leave after the detection of magma flows.

The community, located about 53 km (33 miles) from the capital, Reykjavik, was widely evacuated a year ago when the volcano, sleeping for 800 years, has resumed life.

The nearby Blue Lagoon Spa was also evacuated, the local media said.

The flow of magma was accompanied by an intense storm of earthquakes similar to those preceding previous eruptions, the Met Office said.

Until now, the 10 eruptions that have occurred south of Reykjavik on the peninsula since 2021 have not directly affected the capital or disturbed air traffic by spitting ashes in the stratosphere.

Iceland is known as Land of Ice and Fire for its many glaciers and volcanoes.

Published by: ZAC Crellin