Tag Archives: Iceland

Likelihood of Iceland Volcano eruption remains high with 1,700 earthquakes in 24 hours

Iceland-Volcano

Important Takeaways:

    • The heightened seismic activity, which started more than a week ago within the Reykjanes Peninsula, continued into Saturday with approximately 1,700 earthquakes recorded in 24 hours, according to the Icelandic Meteorological Office.
    • The office noted a high likelihood of volcanic eruption continues in the southwest along a 9-mile magma tunnel, with the highest likelihood of an eruption starting north of the small fishing town of Grindavík, which has a population of 3,400 and is located near Hagafell mountain
    • Grindavík’s residents evacuated from the town last week before the chance to briefly re-enter on Thursday and Friday to collect important belongings, according to NBC…
    • A volcanic eruption could disrupt air travel in other countries if it’s large enough. The 2010 eruption of Iceland’s Eyjafjallajökull volcano created massive plumes of ash that were swept into Europe by northerly winds, canceling more than 100,000 flights and creating $1.7 billion in lost revenue to airlines.

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Iceland volcano still rumbling as terrifying sounds hint it’s ready to blow

Iceland-Volcano-Ash-Cloud

Important Takeaways:

  • The terrifying sounds that hint Iceland’s volcano is ready to blow: Audio clip reveals the ‘exciting and scary’ seismic activity building around the Fagradalsfjall area
  • Iceland is bracing for a massive volcanic eruption that could wipe out an entire town, release toxic fumes and trigger widespread disruption.
  • The country has ordered evacuations and declared a state of emergency as seismic activity ramps up around the Fagradalsfjall volcano, which is expected to blow in the coming days.
  • Now, members of the public can listen to what this unnerving rumbling actually sounds like thanks to an app which transforms seismic frequencies into audible pitches.
  • The result is an ‘exciting and scary’ cacophony of noise as the island’s Reykjanes Peninsula is hit by hundreds of earthquakes
  • Around 4,000 people have been forced from their homes in the town of Grindavik due to its proximity to the Fagradalsfjall volcano on the Reykjanes peninsula, while the popular Blue Lagoon tourist attraction has also been closed.

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Iceland volcanic experts predict eruption could happen at any moment as more quakes hit the region

Seismic-Swarm-Iceland

Important Takeaways:

  • ‘Time’s finally up’: Iceland’s impending volcanic blast ‘marks the start of centuries of eruptions’ as one region is hit by 800 new quakes that have split houses apart and created gaping chasms
  • Iceland’s looming volcano blast is just the beginning of a new era of volcanic eruptions that will last for centuries, with the build-up of magma beneath the coastal town of Grindavik signalling that more is to come, scientists have warned.
  • The region has been rattled by more than 800 new earthquakes since midnight, with experts warning that magma is rising ever closer to the earth’s surface fueling fears of an imminent volcanic eruption
  • Around 4,000 residents were evacuated from Grindavik on Saturday morning, hours after Iceland declared a state of emergency.
  • A huge nine-mile-long magma intrusion, just northwest of Grindavik, has formed and is growing, according to experts, with magma thought to be as close as 500 meters from the surface.
  • Just a few days ago, experts were saying that magma was accumulating three miles below ground, but it has now risen much closer, if estimates are correct.
  • In case the worst happens, authorities are preparing to build defense walls around a nearby geothermal power plant which they desperately hope will protect it from lava flows.

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Iceland on edge: Magma accumulating under town ‘a corridor around nine miles long;’ Eruption could be anywhere as sinkholes open up

Iceland-Volcano-road-damage

Important Takeaways:

  • Iceland ‘is on edge’ waiting for volcanic eruption amid fears river of lava could hit power plant after giant crack tears through town, thousands are evacuated and over 700 more earthquakes since yesterday, with ‘unholy sounds’ coming up from the earth
  • The whole of Iceland ‘is on edge’ as experts say earthquakes which have been rumbling beneath the surface for days and have torn through a town are a precursor to a volcanic eruption.
  • More than 700 quakes have been recorded in the southwestern Reykjanes Peninsula since yesterday, and despite them being slightly weaker than in previous days the Fagradalsfjall volcano is still expected to erupt.
  • Iceland has been shaken by thousands of tremors over the past few days, with a state of emergency declared on Friday and around 4,000 people ordered to leave the fishing community of Grindavik.
  • Evacuated residents have reported hearing ‘unholy sounds’ from beneath the ground as they fled, while those allowed to return to collect belongings from their deserted homes were told: ‘If you hear sirens, drop everything and get out!’
  • Huge sinkholes have opened up around the town, and now dramatic aerial footage captured by the Coast Guard shows a chasm running through the center, with smoke pouring out of the gaping splits as magma rises.
  • Meanwhile, authorities are urgently preparing to build defense walls around a nearby geothermal power plant
  • Magma has been accumulating under the town and experts said yesterday that a ‘corridor’ around nine miles (14km) long has developed beneath it, with an eruption possible anywhere along the intrusion.

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Volcanic eruption at any moment: Iceland officials declare state of emergency with evacuations in place

Mount-Fagradalsfjall

Important Takeaways:

  • Volcanic eruption in Iceland could last ‘for weeks’, expert warns as 2,800 earthquake tremors are detected in 24 hours amid fears ‘imminent’ explosion could ‘obliterate’ town
  • A volcano in Iceland could spew lava ‘for weeks’ an expert has warned, as fears are mounting that an eruption could be ‘imminent’ with at least 2,800 tremors recorded in the last day.
  • The Fagradalsfjall volcano on the Reykjanes peninsula, the youngest part of Iceland, threatens to ‘obliterate’ the town of Grindavik, with 4,000 residents evacuated after a state of emergency was declared on Friday.
  • ‘We are really concerned about all the houses and the infrastructure in the area,’ Vidir Reynisson, head of Iceland’s Civil Protection and Emergency Management said.
  • ‘The magma is now at a very shallow depth, so we’re expecting an eruption within a couple of hours at the shortest, but at least within a couple of days.’
  • Molten magma has been accumulating three miles under Grindavik, and now experts have said that a ‘corridor’, around nine miles long (15km), has developed beneath the town – with a volcanic eruption possible anywhere along the intrusion.
  • ‘We have a fissure that’s about 15 kilometers long, and anywhere on that fissure we can see that an eruption could happen,’ he said.
  • Pictures have shown gaping chasms opening up around the town, with roads wrecked, pavements ripped apart, and land slipping at a golf course.
  • All roads leading to the town are reportedly closed, while the roads to Iceland’s international airports in the north of the peninsula remain open.
  • Thorvaldur Thordarson, professor of volcanology at the University of Iceland, told state broadcaster RUV at the weekend: ‘I don’t think it’s long before an eruption, hours or a few days. The chance of an eruption has increased significantly,’
  • Locals in the area were given just 15 minutes to return and gather their pets and essentials after they evacuated their homes.

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Latest Iceland Rumbling: 23,000 Earthquakes since October in an area with an estimated 130 volcanos

Important Takeaways:

  • 23,000 Earthquakes in Just Weeks Raise Fears of Volcanic Eruption
  • Iceland has recorded thousands of earthquakes, localized in the Reykjanes Peninsula, in recent days, with the Nordic country evacuating its famous Blue Lagoon geothermal spa amid fears of a possible volcanic eruption.
  • The effects of the recent earthquakes were felt as far as Borgarnes town, 51 kilometers (~32 miles) away from the peninsula. The Icelandic Meteorological Office (IMO) has documented more than 23,000 tremors since October, including an earthquake of magnitude 5.0 on November 2nd, the largest spike in activity since tremors began.
  • The Reykjanes Peninsula laid dormant for an estimated 800 years before an eruption in 2021. There are around 130 volcanoes across the island nation, most of which are active.

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Seismic swarm in Iceland leads to volcanic eruption

Luke 21:11 There will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and pestilences. And there will be terrors and great signs from heaven.

Important Takeaways:

  • See Iceland’s Fagradalsfjall volcano erupt for 3rd time in 3 years
  • The Icelandic Meteorological Office said Monday that a fissure broke open between the Fagradalsfjall and Keilir mountains, roughly 37 miles from the country’s capital and just a half hour from an international airport.
  • The fissure excreting lava is estimated to be about 200 meters, or about 656 feet long. The office said that the “lava is emerging as a series of fountains.”
  • However, “there is presently no emission of ash to the atmosphere,” the office said in its last update on Monday evening, adding that the eruption is occurring in a region where people do not live, ensuring “no immediate risks to communities or infrastructure.”
  • “The development of the eruption is presently unclear, so we advise the public not to attempt to visit the eruption area,” the office said. “Dangerously high levels of volcanic gases will accumulate close to the eruption. Further updates from IMO will be issued in the coming days.”
  • The peninsula has been experiencing a “seismic swarm” since July 4, the meteorological office said, with at least 7,000 earthquakes recorded between Fagradalsfjall and Keilir since that time, with the largest measuring as a 4.8 on July 5. The office says the rise in activity is because of a “new dike intrusion in the area.”

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Volcano erupts near Iceland’s capital

By Nikolaj Skydsgaard and Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen

COPENHAGEN (Reuters) – A volcano erupted near Iceland’s capital Reykjavik on Friday, shooting lava high into the night sky after thousands of small earthquakes in recent weeks.

The eruption occurred near Fagradalsfjall, a mountain on the Reykjanes Peninsula, around 30 km (19 miles) southwest of the capital.

Some four hours after the initial eruption at 2045 GMT – the first on the peninsula since the 12th century – lava covered about one square kilometer or nearly 200 football fields.

“I can see the glowing red sky from my window,” said Rannveig Gudmundsdottir, resident in the town of Grindavik, only 8 km (5 miles) from the eruption.

“Everyone here is getting into their cars to drive up there,” she said.

More than 40,000 earthquakes have occurred on the peninsula in the past four weeks, a huge jump from the 1,000-3,000 earthquakes registered each year since 2014.

The eruption posed no immediate danger to people in Grindavik or to critical infrastructure, according to the Icelandic Meteorological Office (IMO), which classified the eruption as small.

A fissure 500 to 750 meters (547 to 820 yards) long opened at the eruption site, spewing lava fountains up to 100 meters (110 yards) high, Bjarki Friis of the meteorological office said.

Residents in the town of Thorlakshofn, east of the eruption site, were told to stay indoors to avoid exposure to volcanic gases, Iceland’s Department of Civil Protection and Emergency Management said. The wind was blowing from the west.

Unlike the eruption in 2010 of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano, which halted approximately 100,000 flights and forced hundreds of Icelanders from their homes, this eruption is not expected to spew much ash or smoke into the atmosphere.

Located between the Eurasian and the North American tectonic plates, among the largest on the planet, Iceland is a seismic and volcanic hot spot as the two plates move in opposite directions.

The source of the eruption is a large body of molten rock, known as magma, which has pushed its way to the surface over the past weeks, instigating the earthquakes.

The number of quakes had slowed down in recent days, however, leading geologists to say that an eruption would be less likely.

Reykjavik’s international Keflavik airport was not closed following the eruption, but each airline had to decide if it wanted to fly or not, IMO said.

Arrivals and departures on the airport’s website showed no disruptions.

(Reporting by Nikolaj Skydsgaard and Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen in Copenhagen; Editing by Leslie Adler, Matthew Lewis, Sonya Hepinstall and Cynthia Osterman)

Quaking in their beds, sleepless Icelanders await volcanic eruption

By Nikolaj Skydsgaard and Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen

COPENHAGEN (Reuters) – Icelanders are yearning for some undisturbed shut-eye after tremors from tens of thousands of earthquakes have rattled their sleep for weeks in what scientists call an unprecedented seismic event, which might well end in a spectacular volcanic eruption.

“At the moment we’re feeling it constantly. It’s like you’re walking over a fragile suspension bridge,” Rannveig Gudmundsdottir, a lifelong resident in the town of Grindavik, told Reuters.

Grindavik lies in the southern part of the Reykjanes Peninsula, a volcanic and seismic hot spot, where more than 40,000 earthquakes have occurred since Feb. 24, exceeding the total number of earthquakes registered there last year.

Located between the Eurasian and the North American tectonic plates, Iceland frequently experiences earthquakes as the plates slowly drift in opposite directions at a pace of around 2 centimeters each year.

The source of the past weeks’ earthquakes is a large body of molten rock, known as magma, moving roughly one kilometer (0.6 mile) beneath the peninsula, as it tries to push its way to the surface.

“We’ve never seen so much seismic activity,” Sara Barsotti, volcanic hazards coordinator at the Icelandic Meteorological Office (IMO) told Reuters.

Some of those quakes clocked in at magnitudes as high as 5.7.

“Everyone here is so tired,” Gudmundsdottir, a 5th grade school teacher, said. “When I go to bed at night, all I think about is: Am I going to get any sleep tonight?”.

Many in Grindavik have visited relatives, spent time in summer houses, or even rented a hotel room in Reykjavik, the capital, just to get a break and a good night’s sleep.

Authorities in Iceland warned of an imminent volcanic eruption on the peninsula in early March, but said they did not expect it to disturb international air traffic or damage critical infrastructure nearby.

Unlike the eruption in 2010 of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano, which halted approximately 900,000 flights and forced hundreds of Icelanders from their homes, the eruption on the peninsula is not expected to spew much ash or smoke into the atmosphere.

Experts are expecting lava to erupt from fissures in the ground, possibly resulting in spectacular lava fountains, which could extend 20 to 100 meters in the air.

Already last year authorities put an emergency plan in place for Grindavik. One option includes putting locals on boats in the North Atlantic, if an eruption shuts roads to the remote town.

“I trust the authorities to keep us informed and evacuate us,” Gudmundsdottir said. “I’m not scared, just tired.”

(Reporting by Nikolaj Skydsgaard and Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise)

As winter comes, NATO kicks off largest maneuvers since Cold War

FILE PHOTO: U.S., German, Spanish and Polish troops of the NATO enhanced Forward Presence battle goups with their tanks get ready for the Iron Tomahawk exercise in Adazi, Latvia October 23, 2018. REUTERS/Ints Kalnins

By Terje Solsvik

OSLO (Reuters) – Military forces from 31 countries began NATO’s largest exercise in decades, stretching from the Baltic Sea to Iceland, on Thursday, practicing military maneuvers close to Russia, which itself held a huge military drill last month.

As temperatures fell below freezing across training grounds in central Norway, giving a taste of what it means to defend NATO’s vast northern flank, some 50,000 troops, 250 aircraft and 10,000 tanks, trucks and other land-based vehicles were ready.

“Forces are in position, they are integrating and starting combat enhancement training for major battlefield operations over the next two weeks,” Colonel Eystein Kvarving at Norway’s Joint Headquarters told Reuters.

Dubbed Trident Juncture, the exercise is by far the biggest in Norway since the early 1980s, a sign that the alliance wants to sharpen its defenses after years of cost cuts and far-flung combat missions.

Increasingly concerned about Russia since it annexed Crimea in 2014, Norway has sought to double the number of U.S. Marines receiving training on its soil every year, a move criticized by Moscow.

Russia last month held its biggest maneuvers since 1981, called Vostok-2018 (East-2018), mobilizing 300,000 troops in a show of force close to China’s border which included joint drills with the Chinese and Mongolian armies.

NATO’s war games were originally meant to involve 35,000 troops, but the number grew in recent months and included the late addition of an aircraft carrier, the USS Harry S. Truman with some 6,000 personnel.

NATO fears Russia’s military build-up in the region could ultimately restrict naval forces’ ability to navigate freely, and on Oct. 19 the Truman became the first American aircraft carrier to enter the Arctic Circle since before the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991.

Although a solid majority of Norwegians support membership of NATO, whose secretary general is former Norwegian prime minister Jens Stoltenberg, some parties on the left would prefer that the country quit the alliance and form some type of military cooperation arrangement with its Nordic neighbors.

“The effect of this activity will increase the tension between Norway and Russia,” Socialist member of parliament Torgeir Knag Fylkesnes said of the exercise, adding that the presence of an aircraft carrier caused particular concern.

“You have to be quite hawkish to view this as something that brings peace in any way,” he told Reuters.

(Additional reporting by Lefteris Karagiannopoulos; Editing by Gwladys Fouche; Editing by Robin Pomeroy)