Video caption,
Lava is advancing on houses in Grindavik – aerial view
About the article
- Author, Hermann Gunnarsson
- Position, Reykjavik, Iceland
-
3 hours ago
Since early February, three houses in the town of Grindavik on the Reykjanes Peninsula in southwest Iceland have been destroyed when molten lava flowed through two fissures formed in the Svartsengi volcanic system.
Once a thriving fishing village of about 3,800 people, Grindavik is now deserted. Residents leave it and begin to come to terms with the idea that they may not return here again.
Their future is unclear. One resident even said she would prefer if her house was swallowed up by lava.
Over the past three years, there have been five volcanic eruptions on the peninsula.
On November 10, after several earthquakes raised suspicions that magma had penetrated beneath the village, Icelandic authorities ordered the evacuation of Grindavik.
Seismic activity completely destroyed several houses. Residents hoped to return home when the earthquakes subsided, but in mid-December a violent eruption began in the nearby Sundhnux crater, lasting three days.
I myself witnessed the eruption, and three hours after it began I went home.
image copyrightNURPHOTO
Photo caption,
Grindavik is deserted, and no one knows whether its inhabitants will ever return
On the road from Reykjavik to Keflavik Airport, which leads to my town of Reykjanesbaer, I saw a fissure almost 4 km long spewing molten lava. It felt like I was watching the gates of hell opening.
Grindavik was temporarily spared – the eruption occurred about 3 km from the city – but later additional cracks were discovered in its surface, forcing the authorities to close the city and begin rebuilding the damaged infrastructure.
On January 10, a tragedy occurred: a man working in the city fell into one of the cracks. After a short search, the operation was stopped due to the dangerous situation.
Four days later, another eruption began dangerously close to Grindavik.
From the central command post of the Icelandic Civil Defense in Reykjanesbaer, I watched a live broadcast of the eruption from the Sundhnuks series of craters.
image copyrightHERMANN GUNNARSSON
In the weeks before the January eruption, the government decided to build protective walls in an attempt to prevent lava from escaping towards Grindavik and the nearby Svartsengi geothermal power plant.
The barriers helped for the first few hours, although one of the cracks that opened went straight through the wall.
Some of the lava flowed towards Grindavik, but barriers held back most of it.
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Around noon on January 14, as I and other reporters were observing the action near the protective walls in Grindavik, we noticed smoke emerging from behind the walls into the city itself.
The size of the protective structures did not allow us to immediately understand where it was coming from.
However, I was overcome by an eerie feeling that this could be another crack that had opened behind the walls and doomed the village to destruction.
In the next few minutes, these fears of mine were justified. Residents fled when lava flowed into Grindavik, and may never return.
The crack opened less than 100 meters from the houses in Grindavik, and every rescuer I spoke to at the scene said that it was now impossible to save the houses.
We have witnessed the worst natural disaster to hit Iceland in 51 years.
On television, Icelanders watched as lava swallowed the first houses – a surreal and heartbreaking sight. Although the eruption did not last long, three houses were destroyed.
image copyrightICELAND CIVIL PROTECTION/HANDOUT VIA REUTERS
In February, residents of Grindavik found themselves scattered throughout the country, unable to live in their hometown.
Pall Valur Bjornsson was forced to leave his home in Grindavik and travel to Reykjavik. He believes the government has failed to do enough to ease residents’ uncertainty about their future.
“Until now, all their actions have been characterized by haste and bewilderment, and the information provided to the residents of Grindavik has rather confused people than solved problems,” he complains. “All the actions of the administration were completely unacceptable, and it is obvious that rescuers were in no way prepared for such a turn of events, which is completely incredible, given that these earthquakes and eruptions began three years ago.”
The life of the inhabitants of Grindavik has changed beyond recognition since November 10. The authorities have not given them a return date, and it is unknown whether the village will be safe to live in. Even if this happens, some residents may be too traumatized to return.
They also have the financial burden of having mortgages on homes they cannot live in.
image copyrightGetty Images
Photo caption,
Lava poured into Grindavik and covered some streets, destroying houses
Icelanders and the government are unanimous in offering help. Residents of Grindavik receive housing benefits, and parliament will consider a bill designed to alleviate their problems.
When Brindis Gunnlaugsdottir said at a meeting of Grindavik residents in January that she wanted the lava to destroy her home, she was greeted with thunderous applause.
This level of desperation is hard to imagine, but when I asked her about it, it all became clear.
“80 days have passed since the evacuation. During these 80 days, the residents of Grindavik did not have a home,” she explained. “Our community is suffering and we don’t know what the future holds.”
According to her, too many tragedies have happened in Grindavik.
“I said I wanted my house to be covered in lava because then the uncertainty would be over. “I would be compensated and be able to build a new life and, at least for a while, focus on the emotional pain that such a loss causes,” she says. “I think that many Grindavik residents agree that uncertainty is now the worst enemy.”
The fate of Grindavik is still unclear, but its residents do not lose hope of returning.
It is impossible to say when and where the next eruption will occur on the Reykjanes Peninsula. But Icelandic scientists largely agree that the question is not if it will happen, but when it will happen.
image copyrightICELAND CIVIL PROTECTION/HANDOUT VIA REUTERS
2024-02-04 14:06:32
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