A volcano on the Reykjanes peninsula erupted again late Wednesday, November 20, spewing fountains of lava and smoke, according to the country’s meteorological institute.
As magma accumulated underground, the authorities had already warned of imminent volcanic activity on the peninsula, which is about 30 km southwest of the capital Reykjavik. The latest eruption ended on September 6.
Tenth eruption since 2021
It is the tenth volcanic eruption in southwest Iceland in three years, and experts that SVT spoke to have previously warned that the active period could last for a hundred years to come.
In order not to risk the local population, the government has since February this year started buying houses from evacuees in the Grindaviks area corresponding to 95% of the fire insurance value.
– Only a handful of people remain, almost all have sold their houses, says Jakob Vegerfors.
For those who live a little further from the volcano, however, there is still a concern for the future. According to Jakob Vegerfors, they have not been offered anything similar to the Grindaviks residents, while house prices are falling and making the future uncertain.
From nature photographer to volcano monitoring
Jakob Vegerfors finds it fascinating to go out and document volcanoes and has a background as a nature photographer. As long as he lives in Iceland, the idea is that he will continue documenting the outbreaks.
– There is a balance when people’s lives, houses and homes are at stake, he says.
The eruptions on the Reykjanes Peninsula, known as fissure eruptions, have not directly affected the capital and do not cause any significant dispersion of ash into the stratosphere, avoiding disruption to air traffic.
Seismologists believe that the peninsula may be at the beginning of a new volcanic period, with the last one ending in the middle of the 13th century.