2024-02-10 12:36:47
Fagradalsfjall erupted for the third time in two months early Thursday, depriving 28,000 residents of heat at -14 degrees. This volcano located northeast of the town of Grindavik (southwest of Iceland) has indeed damaged the water and electricity circuits of a geothermal power plant.
The incident affects all residents of the Reykjanes peninsula, 40km from Reykjavik, the capital. The extent of the damage remains to be assessed, but the worst has been avoided, reassures the mayor of Grindavik.
“We don’t know what the consequences will be exactly, but it is of course a very serious matter… But otherwise we are happy that the infrastructure and buildings of Grindavik are not in danger in the current state of affairs,” declares Fannar Jónasson in Saturday’s 12:45 p.m.
Repair work took place all night, in a temperature of -14°C and in difficult access conditions due to the presence of lava. Authorities hope to restore hot water in the coming hours.
Civil protection is trying as best they can to stem the flow, but roads are completely cut off by the lava.
>> Review images of Thursday’s eruption: New eruption in Iceland, north of Grindavik / News in video / 56 sec. / Thursday at 10:30
No obstacle can stop the lava
The government built walls to protect the geothermal plant during volcanic eruptions, but this time they were not enough to stop the lava. “It went over the pipes,” said a police officer who manages security on the site at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday.
“This has a lot of consequences for the communities in the region who rely on this infrastructure for hot water,” he continues.
>> Listen to the full report from 12:30 p.m.: Report in Iceland on the scene of the latest volcanic eruption / 12:30 p.m. / 2 min. / today at 12:35
Concerned residents are urged to save electricity.
The Reykjanes Peninsula experienced its sixth eruption since 2021, before which the volcanoes had left it alone for 800 years.
Radio and TV topics: Virginie Gerhard / Mathieu Lombard
Adaptation web: Julie Marty
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