Iceland volcano live: ‘Worst-case scenario’ as new crack forms and lava flows into houses for first time

An expert fears the “worst-case scenario” has become the reality in Iceland as lava has flowed into people’s homes for the first time after a new crack formed.

The Icelandic Meteorological Office said the volcano in the southwest of the country erupted for the second time in less than a month on Sunday, suspecting the fissure had since forced itself under the town of Grindavik.

A new crack later formed, said the forecaster, with lava flowing into the fishing town and torching at least three homes.

When asked if the worst-case scenario had happened, Benedikt Halldórsson, an expert in earthquake activity at the Icelandic Meteorological Office, told The Icelandic National Broadcasting Service: “Yes, I don’t think it’s possible to imagine anything worse than it erupting in a settlement and lava flowing onto houses.”

A volcano has erupted in the Grindavík area of south west Iceland this morning (14 January), days after residents were ordered to leave when volcanic fissures began opening on nearby roads.

The order is expected to be in place for at least three weeks which will cause a lot of disruption, particularly as Grindavík plays home to the iconic Blue Lagoon tourist attraction.

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A passenger on a plane heading over Iceland has shared footage of the view of Grindavik’s volcano eruption from the sky.

In the footage, lava can be seen spilling down the volcano, which has since reached the evacuated town, and sent several homes up in flames.

At least three houses in the fishing village of Grindavik were destroyed in lava, authorities said, adding that the eruption in the fissure has largely subsided.

“It seems to us that it has almost stopped, the lava flow by these houses,” says Böðvar Sveinsson, a natural disaster expert at the Icelandic Meteorological Office.

The eruption took place on Sunday north of the town following a series of earthquakes near the town of Grindavik.

The community of nearly 4000 people was evacuated overnight, Iceland’s RUV television reported.

A British couple on holiday in Iceland said it was “alarming” to see a volcano erupting in the southwest of the country as they travelled to the airport on Sunday.

Lorraine Crawford, 67, and her 70-year-old husband John, from Essex, took a trip to Reykjavik on Thursday along with Mr Crawford’s cousin, Michael Daltrey, and his wife, Faye.

The group were in a taxi on their way to Keflavik International Airport on Sunday morning to return to the UK when Ms Crawford said they saw the erupting volcano in the distance and initially thought it was a fire.

“It’s alarming in a way – it’s quite exciting to see something like that but then you realise that this could do quite a lot of damage,” Ms Crawford, who runs a travel agency with her husband and their daughter, told the PA news agency.

“On the way (to the airport), we thought it was just a fire in the distance but (the taxi driver) said it was the actual volcano erupting.”

She added that they had heard a “really loud noise” and a “really loud rumble” from the airport, but they were not sure what had caused it.

Much of the lava flow from the volcano eruption was diverted from Grindavik due to the protective barrier dams built around the town, the Icelandic Met Office said.

Since November, defensive walls had been placed around the volcano in hopes of directing the magma away from the community.

But the walls of the barriers built north of Grindavik have been breached by the lava, which engulfed at least three houses.

“This continues to surprise us,” said Benedikt Ofeigsson, a geophysicist at the Meteorological Office.

The Blue Lagoon geothermal spa, one of Iceland’s biggest tourist attractions, extended its closure till 16 January due to the nearby volcanic eruption.

“The current eruption site is at a safe distance from Blue Lagoon,” a note on the spa’s website reads.

“All guests with bookings during this temporary closure period will be contacted.”

Services at the Blue Lagoon have been temporarily unavailable since November, when the fishing town of Grindavik was initially evacuated following intense seismic activity.