Two fissures formed near the town after an increase in seismic activity that prompted authorities to evacuate people the day before.
A first eruption began at 8am yesterday when a crack opened in the ground about 450 metres from the town. Protective barriers of earth and rock pushed lava from the first fissure away from the town. However, a second crack then opened about midday on the edge of town, with that lava engulfing the homes.
Jets of glowing orange lava flowed out and a huge smoke cloud rose against the dark sky.
"In a little village like this one, we're like a family, we all know each other as family - it's tragic seeing this," Sveinn Ari Gudjonsson, 55, who works in the fishing industry, told Agence France-Presse. "It's unreal, it's like watching a film." The nearby geothermal spa Blue Lagoon said on its website it had closed yesterday.
This story is from the January 15, 2024 edition of The Guardian.
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This story is from the January 15, 2024 edition of The Guardian.
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