Iceland's Volcanic Emergency: Evacuations and Looming Danger as Lava Threatens Power Station

In Iceland, on the Reykjanes Peninsula, a volcano erupted on the morning of February 8. The volcano spewed lava up to 262.5 feet high from a fissure. This is the second eruption this year and the third since December of the previous year.
The events unfolded rapidly: seismic activity began in the area at 5:30 a.m., with strong earthquakes, and the eruption occurred within 30 minutes.
"Flames and smoke plumes from the 1.86 miles-long fissure can be seen from Reykjavik," writes the Swedish national radio station SVT, quoting Benedikt Ofeigsson, a geophysicist from the Icelandic Meteorological Agency.
The lava flow affected the geothermal pipelines south of the capital Reykjavik, disrupting the hot water supply for more than 20,000 people. The Civil Protection Agency raised the alert level to an emergency. The agency also urged households and businesses to conserve electricity. According to experts, restoring hot water supply through an emergency pipeline may take several days.
The Blue Lagoon, one of Iceland's most popular tourist attractions, has also been evacuated.
Volcanic eruptions on the Reykjanes Peninsula involve fissure eruptions that typically do not entail major explosions and ash dispersal into the stratosphere. However, such eruptions can last for years.
Therefore, Icelandic authorities have initiated the construction of dams to divert lava flows from residential areas and critical infrastructure. The lava flow is already within 0.6 miles of the Svartsengi geothermal power station. Workers are trying to fill small gaps in the dam along the road to prevent the lava from reaching the power station.
The eruption occurred near Grindavik, a fishing town that was severely affected by the previous volcano eruption starting on January 14 of this year, lasting for two days. Almost 4,000 residents were evacuated from the town. Lava flows damaged the city's infrastructure and destroyed several houses.
Authorities warn that eruptions will continue, as the land in this area continues to rise due to the accumulation of magma underground. According to the Icelandic Meteorological Office, around nine million cubic meters of magma have accumulated beneath the crater since the eruption in January.
This is the sixth volcano eruption on the Reykjanes Peninsula since 2021, but before that, the peninsula had not erupted for 800 years.
Iceland is a country of active volcanoes, and locals are accustomed to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. However, what is happening now is unprecedented in human history.
The planet has entered a period where active mobile hot magma is rising from the depths to the Earth's surface.
On the Earth's surface, magma activity primarily manifests as a change in the eruption patterns of volcanoes, and this is only the preparatory stage.
Volcanologists note changes in various parameters during volcanic eruptions, particularly the chemical composition of lava, indicating a deeper origin of the magma. Deep magma, being hotter and more gas-saturated, becomes more aggressive toward the Earth's crust.
Now, magma has enough energy to rise from the deep layers and directly reach the surface.
During the eruption of the Fagradalsfjall volcano in Iceland in March 2021, the chemical composition of its lava changed more than a thousand times faster than usual. This indicates a new era of volcanic activity in Iceland.
The most significant danger in the coming years, not only for Iceland but for the entire world, is volcanic eruptions and supervolcanoes.
To understand what makes magma so active and how this process can be stopped, see the forum "Global Crisis. The Responsibility."