REYKJAVIK—Despite signs that magma is still flowing below, the volcano that erupted in southwest Iceland on Monday seemed to be far less active than it had been in less than a month.
The front page headline of the Icelandic daily Morgunbladid read "A black day" and included a photograph of brilliant orange lava fountains and burning homes in the town of Grindavik, which is located about 40 kilometers (25 miles) to the southwest of the country's capital, Reykjavik.
Three buildings were set on fire by molten lava flows that reached the outskirts of Grindavik on Sunday around midday, despite the fact that the town had already been evacuated and there was no imminent threat to human safety.
Volcanologist Rikke Pedersen told Reuters on Monday that the surface fissure that had formed in Grindavik on Sunday was no longer active and that the amount of lava flowing from the bigger fissure north of the town was diminishing.
“Activity has dropped significantly overnight,” she said.
"It's uncertain whether the current eruption is nearing its conclusion," she remarked, saying that GPS readings continued to reveal geological movements and suggested that magma was still flowing beneath the town in a corridor.
It was the fifth eruption on the Reykjanes peninsula since 2021 and the second in the previous four weeks.
On Monday, live camera footage revealed hints of orange lava that was still erupting, but at a slower rate and farther from the town.
“Unfortunately (the lava) went a little bit more south than we had hoped for,” the head of Iceland’s Civil Protection and Emergency Management, Vidir Reynisson, told a press conference late on Sunday.
However, Mr. Reynisson stated that the defensive walls erected to the north of Grindavik had assisted in rerouting the lava flows away from the town and to the west.
Before it was evacuated in November, Grindavik was home to around 4,000 people. Locals there said it was hard to see footage of the fires on television.
“This is serious, it’s basically as bad as it can possibly get. Although it might get even worse, who knows,” evacuated resident Jon Gauti Dagbjartsson told Reuters late on Sunday.
“I actually live in the house that I was born in and it’s a tough thought to think that this town might be over, and I would have to start all over somewhere else. But if that’s the case, then that’s exactly what we’ll do,” he said.
On Monday, the Icelandic government will convene to determine how best to assist the residents of Grindavik.
“We need to put a lot of extra efforts into finding more housing, suitable housing,” Prime Minister Katrin Jakobsdottir said.
