Iceland volcano live: Lava flows into Grindavik as country faces ‘daunting’ time after ‘worst-case scenario’

The earth is at its most restless in Iceland right now. Since November 2023 the Icelandic authorities have been monitoring seismic activity on the Reykjanes Peninsula, southwest of Reykjavik.

At least three homes have been set alight after lava from a volcanic eruption hit the fishing town of Grindavik. Much of the town was protected by defensive walls which were built at the onset of intense seismic activities in November.

The 4,000 inhabitants have been evacuated as a precaution.

Simon Calder, Travel Correspondent reports:

A workman is missing after reportedly falling into a crack opened by the volcano.

However, no one has been killed in the eruptions so far.

Iceland's President said the country is battling "tremendous forces of nature" after molten lava from a volcano in the island's southwest consumed several houses in the evacuated town of Grindavik.

President Gudni Th Johannesson said in a televised address on Sunday that "a daunting period of upheaval has begun on the Reykjanes peninsula", where a long-dormant volcanic system has awakened.

The President said: “We don’t yet know how this eruption will unfold, but we must still take those actions that are within our power.

“We continue to hope for as good an outcome as possible, in the face of these tremendous forces of nature.

“We will carry on with our responsibilities and we will continue to stand together.”

Iceland’s president said the country is battling “tremendous forces of nature,” after molten lava from a volcano in the island’s southwest consumed several houses in the evacuated town of Grindavik.

President Gudni Th. Johannesson said in a televised address late Sunday that “a daunting period of upheaval has begun on the Reykjanes peninsula,” where a long-dormant volcanic system has awakened.

A volcano on the peninsula erupted for the second time in less than a month on Sunday morning. Authorities had ordered residents to leave the fishing town of Grindavik hours earlier as a swarm of small earthquakes indicated an imminent eruption.

Read more here:

A geophysicist has warned it is impossible to say when the volcanic eruption in Iceland will end.

However, Magnus Tumi Gudmundsson added on Monday morning that the eruption had "decreased considerably" overnight.

A workman who is missing after reportedly falling into a crack opened by the volcano has been named.

Father-of-four Lúðvík Pétursson, 50, was working to fill in crevasses formed by earthquakes and volcanic activity in the fishing town of Grindavik when he fell on Wednesday, according to local media.

A manhunt that was subsequently launched, involving hundreds of rescue workers, had to be called off overnight on Thursday after landslides dropped tonnes of rocks on the area.

Icelandic Police said the grandfather-of-two’s relatives and fiancee would like to thank all responders for their assistance in the search for him.

The volcano last erupted less than a month ago, forcing another evacuation of the town of Grindavik in preparation.

The town of Grindavik was previously evacuated in November when the Svartsengi volcanic system awakened after almost 800 years.

The volcano eventually erupted on 18 December, sending lava flowing away from Grindavik, a town of 3,800 people about 30 miles south-west of the capital, Reykjavik.

Residents were allowed to return to their homes on 22 December.

Since then, emergency workers have been building defensive walls that have stopped much of the lava flow from the new eruption short of the town.

Aerial footage showed lava flows setting houses on fire in Grindavik, Iceland on Sunday (14 January) after a volcano erupted.

Footage recorded by Björn Steinbekk showed a river of lava surrounding buildings in the fishing village, which has been evacuated.

Mr Steinbekk said he posted his footage online to show “the dark side of volcanos.”

“Almost 4000 people are suffering right now; some have been watching their houses burn during live feeds and on YouTube,” he added.

It is the second eruption on the Reykjanes peninsula in four weeks and the fifth since 2021.

Holly Patrick reports:

Calls are being made to rescue up to 240 sheep that are locked in shelters in Grindavik.

Þorvaldur H. Þórðarson, the chief veterinarian at the Icelandic Food and Veterinary Authority (MAST), has said the animals are locked in the town, as lava flows into houses there.

MAST representatives have called for the South-East Iceland Civil Protection Committee to grant owners permission to bring their animals to safety.

“We have pointed out the need for this and have done what we can to push this through. It seems to us that this is between 220 and 240 sheep,” Þórðarson told mbl.is. “We are waiting for this to be addressed.”

The latest eruption in Iceland is not expected to release large amounts of ash into the air.

Operations at Keflavík Airport are continuing as normal, said Gudjon Helgason, spokesperson for airport operator Isavia.

Iceland, which sits above a volcanic hot spot in the North Atlantic, averages one eruption every four to five years.

The most disruptive in recent times was the 2010 eruption of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano, which spewed clouds of ash into the atmosphere and disrupted trans-Atlantic air travel for months.