Hikers scramble as a new fissure opens up an Icelandic volcano
Hundreds of hikers who had come to see the spectacle were evacuated Monday. After steam and lava spurted from a fresh fissure at an Icelandic volcano that started erupting last month. A sightseeing helicopter discovered the latest fissure which has about 500 metres (550 yards) long and about a kilometre from the original eruption site in the Geldinga Valley.
The region has ordered to evacuate immediately according to the Icelandic Department of Emergency Management. It has reported that there was no immediate risk to life due to the site’s isolation from traditional hiking trails. According to the Icelandic Meteorological Agency, the latest volcanic activity is not likely to disturb traffic at nearby Keflavik Airport. The long-dormant volcano on Iceland’s Reykjanes Peninsula erupted on March 20th. After tens of thousands of earthquakes reported in the region over the previous three weeks. Moreover, it is the first volcanic eruption in the region in nearly 800 years.
Almost 30,000 tourists have visited the region since the eruption started:
Despite the country’s partial lockdown to fight the coronavirus. The volcano’s proximity to Iceland’s capital, Reykjavik, about 32 kilometres (20 miles) away, has drawn a steady stream of tourists to the region. According to the Icelandic Tourist Board, almost 30,000 tourists have visited the region since the eruption started. However, Live video from the region shows tiny lava spouts emerging from the new fissure. Magnus Gudmundsson, a geophysicist, believes the volcanic activity is heading north from its initial site. Similarly, we’re seeing less lava flowing from the two initial craters now he told The Associated Press. This may be the start of the second level.
Iceland, which is situated over a volcanic hot spot in the North Atlantic, has one volcanic eruption every four or five years on average. Hence, the most recent has at Holuhraun in 2014 where a fissure explosion spread lava the size of Manhattan through the interior highland area. In 2010, ash from Iceland’s Eyjafjallajokull volcano interrupted most international air traffic for many days.
