Alas, Poor Grindavík Volume 2: Lava Invades the Town
It was inevitable, really. Iceland got lucky for the first four eruptions on the Reykjanes Peninsula, but when volcanoes are rolling dice in populated areas, they eventually get snake eyes and buildings burn. Grindavík had a Christmas reprieve, but the new year isn’t starting off so well.
That’s life on a reawakened volcanic peninsula.
From virtually the moment the 2023 Sundhnúkur eruption ended, we knew the volcano wasn’t done. The ground began rising, signalling intruding magma. I was surprised when Icelandic authorities allowed townspeople to return to Grindavík and the Blue Lagoon reopened for tourists. The Eldvörp–Svartsengi volcanic system was letting everyone know, very clearly, that it wasn’t done with the lava and that it wouldn’t be done for some time. It was just taking a holiday break. But Icelandic folks are made of tough stuff, and the small matter of a restless volcano wasn’t going to keep them from living life as normally as possible. They just kept a wary eye on the thing and carried on.
Things were coming to a head going into the weekend, and authorities had issued an evacuation order for Grindavík come Monday. The volcano couldn’t wait that long. Around 3 am Iceland time, a dramatic increase in seismic activity let everyone know go time was now. Sirens sounds, emergency alerts texted, and people fled just in time.
On Friday afternoon, January 12, Grindavík’s danger was considered great; by 7:50 am on Sunday, January 14th, the danger had risen to the top of the scale. What a difference 39 hours made!
GIF of the Icelandic Met Office hazard maps from Friday afternoon and Sunday morning. Credit: Icelandic Met Office/Dana Hunter
Magma intruded in a new dike and burrowed beneath the town. Seven minutes after the revised hazard map was published, a fissure popped open 450 meters from the northern edge of Grindavík. It quickly grew to nearly a kilometer long. Part of it actually cut through the defensive wall that was in the process of being constructed. Crews scrambled to move heavy machinery out of the way. It was a huge risk, but those machines would be needed to build more defensive walls later.
Construction crews race to save equipment as lava approaches. Credit: Live from Iceland
I spent the morning watching lava flows engulf the construction equipment left behind. One solitary light rig kept bravely shining as it was consumed. It survived a surprisingly long time.
Brave construction light continues to shine as lava engulfs it. Credit: Live from Iceland
The lava defense wall thankfully was able to channel most of the lava flow away from Grindavík, and for a while, it seemed like a few odd pieces of construction equipment, a road, and possibly a greenhouse would be the only things destroyed. But then, at noon Iceland time, a new 100 meter-long fissure opened a scant 200 meters from town and soon began sending lava flows directly at homes. As of this writing, at least two houses have been destroyed and several more are at risk.
This eruption is much smaller than the last, but it’s declining much more slowly. When I looked at the web cams just prior to posting, some of the fountains had shut down, but the fissures were still largely active. We won’t know for possibly several days how much of Grindavík will be lost in this current eruption.
Unfortunately, this is the new normal for the Reykjanes Peninsula for the foreseeable future. Hopefully eruptions will once again move to the more remote areas, but with two dikes emplaced under Grindavík, the odds aren’t looking good. This is the price for living on a dynamic planet: sometimes all we can do is get out of the way while nature builds new land and remodels existing landscapes.
For updated information, check the RÚV liveblog and the Icelandic Met Office page.
Featured image credit: Almannavarnadeild ríkislögreglustjóra.
Gangi þér vel, Grindavík.
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