After weeks of warnings that semi-molten rock was building up under the ground, the Icelandic Meteorological Office (IMO) said on Saturday that the eruption, at 8.23pm local time, had opened a nearly two-mile fissure in the earth between two mountains.
Lava was flowing mainly south and south-east at a rate of about 1,000 metres an hour overnight and could reach the ocean, the IMO said. Defensive dykes and barriers were being reinforced to stop a "significantly wider" lava bed wrecking the main coastal road.
By midday yesterday, scientists said flows appeared to be slowing but still posed a danger to infrastructure in and around Grindavik. "Seismic activity has decreased since the eruption began," the IMO's Pálmi Erlendsson told the broadcaster RÚV.
Halldór Geirsson, an associate professor at the Institute of Earth Sciences at the University of Iceland, told Reuters the eruption was "quite energetic, and there was a lot of material coming out - more than in the previous eruption".
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة March 18, 2024 من The Guardian.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 8500 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة March 18, 2024 من The Guardian.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 8500 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
Sunak apology for 'decades-long moral failure' of British state
Rishi Sunak declared yesterday a \"day of shame for the British state\" as he apologised for the failures of successive governments over the infected blood scandal and promised to pay whatever it takes to compensate the victims.
New cougar seen in Los Angeles year after celebrity big cat's death
It has been more than a year since the death of P-22, a beloved Los Angeles cougar known as the \"Brad Pitt of mountain lions\", whose passing inspired murals, songs and celebrations across the city.
Aid operations UN says 1.1m face famine after supplies slow to trickle
The humanitarian crisis in Gaza is likely to worsen again as deliveries of aid and fuel to the Palestinian territory slow to a trickle in the wake of Israel's two-week-old ground offensive in the southern city of Rafah.
Climate Big claims - but policies came up short
Every time a minister is asked about the climate crisis, the answer is the same.
McKenna's suitors ready to fight for humble but world-class coach
Northern Irishman works in a nourishing environment at Ipswich, but might Chelsea or Brighton tempt him away?
Maresca enters race Chelsea eye Leicester coach with McKenna in demand
Chelsea have intensified their search for Mauricio Pochettino's replacement by making checks on Leicester's Enzo Maresca, but candidates for the job believe that Ipswich's Kieran McKenna is the favourite to take over at Stamford Bridge.
Supporters want women's own football TV slot, survey reveals
Fans also raise concerns over concentration of power at top of the Women's Super League
Lookman's triple treat for Atalanta brings down Leverkusen
Nothing, not the Roman Empire, not the Zhou dynasty, not even Last of the Summer Wine, lasts forever, and neither did Bayer Leverkusen's unbeaten run.
British Olympic breaststroke champion Wilkie dies aged 70
The British Olympic swimming champion David Wilkie has died at the age of 70.
M&S boss heralds growth for 'years to come' as a million new shoppers boost profits
The boss of Marks & Spencer says he is hopeful of a \"growth story for years to come\" after the revitalised retailer won over 1 million more shoppers to boost profits by 41%.