{"id":48189,"date":"2024-01-15T14:00:08","date_gmt":"2024-01-15T14:00:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/iceland-volcano-recedes-after-black-day-of-town-fires-the-express-tribune\/"},"modified":"2024-01-15T14:00:08","modified_gmt":"2024-01-15T14:00:08","slug":"iceland-volcano-recedes-after-black-day-of-town-fires-the-express-tribune","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/iceland-volcano-recedes-after-black-day-of-town-fires-the-express-tribune\/","title":{"rendered":"Iceland volcano recedes after ‘black day’ of town fires | The Express Tribune"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\nREYKJAVIK:
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A volcano that erupted in southwest Iceland for the second time in less than a month, setting fire to several houses in a fishing town, appeared to be less active early on Monday.<\/p>\n

“A black day” read the front page headline of Icelandic daily Morgunbladid across an image of bright-orange lava fountains and houses burning in the town of Grindavik, some 40 kilometres (25 miles) south-west of the capital Reykjavik.<\/p>\n

Molten lava flows reached the outskirts of Grindavik around noon\u00a0on Sunday, setting three houses alight, although the town was evacuated earlier and there was no immediate danger to people.<\/p>\n

It was the second eruption on the peninsula of Reykjanes in four weeks and the fifth since 2021.<\/p>\n

Live video footage on Monday showed glimpses of orange lava still flowing to the surface but at smaller volumes, and further away from the town.<\/p>\n

Geologists on Sunday said magma corridors were believed to be flowing underneath the abandoned town, however, posing continued risk.<\/p>\n

“Unfortunately (the lava) went a little bit more south than we had hoped for,” the head of Iceland’s Civil Protection and Emergency Management, Vidir Reynisson, told a press conference late on Sunday.<\/p>\n

Read\u00a0<\/a><\/strong>Iceland volcano erupts near town after weeks of quake activity<\/a><\/p>\n

Nevertheless, the defensive barriers built to the north of Grindavik had helped divert the flows of lava to the west, away from the town, Reynisson said.<\/p>\n

Residents of Grindavik, a town of some 4,000 people before it was evacuated in November, said it was difficult to watch televised images of the fires.<\/p>\n

“This is serious, it’s basically as bad as it can possibly get. Although it might get even worse, who knows,” evacuated resident Jon Gauti Dagbjartsson told Reuters late on Sunday.<\/p>\n

“I actually live in the house that I was born in and it’s a tough thought to think that this town might be over, and I would have to start all over somewhere else. But if that’s the case, then that’s exactly what we’ll do,” he said.<\/p>\n

The Icelandic government will meet on Monday to decide on support for the people of Grindavik.<\/p>\n

“We need to put a lot of extra efforts into finding more housing, suitable housing,” Prime Minister Katrin Jakobsdottir said.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n