An expert fears the “worst-case scenario” has become the reality in Iceland as lava has flowed into people’s homes for the first time after a fresh volcanic eruption.
The Icelandic Meteorological Office said the volcano in the southwest of the country erupted for the second time in less than a month on Sunday, suspecting the fissure had since forced itself under the town of Grindavik.
A new crack later formed, said the forecaster, with lava flowing into the fishing town and torching at least three homes.
When asked if the worst-case scenario had happened, Benedikt Halldórsson, an expert in earthquake activity at the Icelandic Meteorological Office, told The Icelandic National Broadcasting Service: “Yes, I don’t think it’s possible to imagine anything worse than it erupting in a settlement and lava flowing onto houses.”
The eruption and lava flow have since subsided somewhat, according to Böðvar Sveinsson, a natural disaster expert at the Icelandic Meteorological Office.
Nearly 4,000 residents were evacuated, but there were no reports of injury or death.