Jakob Vegerfors is on Tuesday morning in Reykjavik in Iceland, which is about five miles from the evacuated Grindavik where the volcano erupted on Monday evening.
He has followed the development during the night and also managed to capture parts of it on film.
– There was a swarm of earthquakes last night and there have been a few without an eruption. But this time, in almost under an hour from the start of the swarm, visible lava came to the surface, he says in Morgonstudion’s live broadcast.
Snow, hail and lava
According to Jakob Vegerfors, the two earthquakes that occurred just before the eruption reached a strength of four. Then the ground opened up with a crack that was four kilometers at its longest. The lava has since spewed out of the ground.
– The biggest directive now is not to be there. Among other things, they want to keep all escape routes open. We are allowed to go out under certain circumstances but the weather has been very unreliable with hail and snow. So there are quite chaotic scenes out there, he says.
“Blessing in disguise”
Over 3,000 people have previously been evacuated from Grindavik. No major impact on the city has yet been reported.
– But there is absolutely a danger that it could happen. What has happened is that it is a bit of luck where it has opened up. Right now it is going east, which is the best direction away from Grindavik and the infrastructure that is out there, says Jakob Vegerfors.