Iceland’s Blue Lagoon evacuated following volcano eruption

Authorities also reported “intense seismic activity” ahead of Wednesday’s eruption.

A state of emergency has been declared – a measure that has been taken following all the recent eruptions.

According to state broadcaster RUV, electricity was cut in the largely abandoned town of Grindavik to protect an endangered high-voltage line.

The nearby Svartsengi power plant, which provides electricity and water to thousands of people on the peninsula, was also evacuated.

Barriers have been built around the facility, as well as Grindavik and the Blue Lagoon, to try to protect them from magma flows caused by the ongoing eruptions.

Keflavik International Airport said it was operating normally and did not expect to be affected.

Most of Grindavik’s 4,000 residents were permanently evacuated in November, ahead of eruptions in December, January, February and March.

Some residents have since returned to live in neighborhoods less threatened by lava flows, but authorities said they were evacuated again on Wednesday when the magma intrusion began to move closer to Grindavik.

Local media reported that three people refused to leave.

Iceland has 33 active volcanic systems and is located on what is known as the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, the boundary between two of the largest tectonic plates on the planet.

The last period of volcanic activity on the Reykjanes Peninsula was 800 years ago – and eruptions continued for decades.

This is now the eighth eruption since 2021, and scientists believe the region is entering a new volcanic era that could last decades or even centuries.