On Thursday, Iceland was hit by a new volcanic eruption on the Reykjanes peninsula. It was the third eruption since December, and the sixth since 2021. The activity of the newest eruption has decreased significantly on Friday, reports the Icelandic broadcaster RUV. The outbreak will probably last until Saturday. Below you can see before and after pictures of the volcanic eruption. Without hot water A state of emergency was declared on the Reykjanes Peninsula after lava destroyed the hot water supply, which is also used as a heating source, for 25,000 inhabitants. This has led to many cold houses. The authorities and contractors are working hard to restore access to hot water, and aim to do so by Friday. It may still take several days before the water reaches the houses, writes RUV. Anna Þórðardóttir from Njarðvík. Photo: Silja Björklund Einarsdóttir / news Anna Þórðardóttir in Njarðvík usually has the heat on in every room. During the day, she likes to open the balcony door ajar to get fresh air in at the same time. – A feeling of sadness Now the curtains are down and the balcony door is closed. Almost all the lights are out, and the only source of heat is a small fan heater on a floor in the living room. When she tries to turn on the hot water in the bathroom, nothing comes out. On Thursday, the lava flowed over the main hot water pipe into the area. – There was a feeling of sadness. You started to think about all the work behind getting it sorted, and how many people have a hard time keeping their houses warm, says Anna to news. It was her grandson who got Þórðardóttir a fan oven from the insurance company Vörður that was delivered on Thursday evening. – I had started to feel that it was starting to get cooler. I closed everything to keep the heat in, she says. Public services closed In the municipalities on the Reykjanes Peninsula, almost all public services are closed until the hot water returns. This means that the town hall, library, swimming pools, kindergartens and several schools are closed. Lava flows out of the fissure of the volcanic eruption. The picture was taken on 8 February. Photo: ICELANDIC DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL PR / AFP Some businesses are still open, but with significantly lower temperatures than usual. Like the cafe Brøns, where an employee walks with a blanket around him to keep warm Handing out fan ovens news has spoken to the insurance company Vörður. They are working to collect and distribute fan heaters and other things to help residents stay warm. – In light of what happened yesterday, we sat down and looked at what we could do for our customers. What are their needs now? Says manager of sales and services in the company, Þórunn Inga Ingjaldsdóttir. The idea to buy and collect fan ovens in the city and send them out to Sudurnes came about when the hot water line was broken. Þórunn Inga Ingjaldsdóttir is head of sales and services at the Icelandic insurance company Vörður. Photo: Tommy Iversen / news – Then it turned out that there were long queues and a big fight for fan ovens, but there are ovens hiding in all stalls. We also saw that people were talking about how to get the ovens transported from Reykjavík to Sudurnes. The insurance company therefore remained open for collection until Thursday evening and drove the ovens to Sudurnes as needed. By Friday afternoon, they had distributed 150 purchased heaters, and are still encouraging those in need to come and collect if needed. – We know that this is not so much in the big picture and what people are struggling with today, but this is at least something we can contribute with now, says Ingjaldsdóttir. Living in uncertainty The volcanic eruption occurred around four kilometers from the village of Grindavik. The residents there have been evacuated in several rounds since November last year. Many of them now live in uncertainty, and do not know if they will ever be able to move home again. Several have previously advocated that the authorities should buy their houses to give them a clear future. On Friday afternoon, the Icelandic authorities announced that they would offer to buy homes and take over the mortgages on them. They have calculated the cost at 61 billion Icelandic kroner, around 4.8 billion Norwegian kroner. The bill was passed at a government meeting on Friday, and is part of the government’s measures to secure Grindavik’s future. – I think people are mostly upset. I think very few are angry. This is just nature. No one can control it, says Anna Þórðardóttir.
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– There was a feeling of sadness – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
