The volcanic eruption continued to diminish in intensity on Wednesday in Iceland, where the population of the capital Reykjavik calmly resumed their daily lives in the face of “the violence of nature.”
• Also read: IN PICTURES | The intensity of the volcanic eruption decreases
• Also read: What is happening to the Fagradalsfjall volcano in Iceland?
“The power of the eruption decreased over time, as did the seismicity and deformation” of the ground, the Icelandic Meteorological Institute (IMO) wrote in an update at 11:53 a.m. (10:53 GMT).
“In the latest surveillance photos, activity is now limited to two craters, whereas previously there were three, southeast of Stóra-Skógafell,” he adds.
The new eruption on Monday evening along a four-kilometer-long fault southwest of Reykjavik largely lit Iceland's sky for 24 hours with bright orange lava flows surrounded by plumes of red smoke.
These torrents continued on Wednesday, albeit at a much smaller extent and under heavily cloudy skies, according to images from surveillance cameras.
This new eruption, the fourth in two years, occurred three kilometers from the town of Grindavik, home to 4,000 residents, which has been evacuated since November 11 after a state of emergency was declared in the area due to a significant accumulation of magma.
“Everyone is excited, but also very calm. We are used to it. You know, it's Iceland, its powerful nature,” reacts Anna Dora, a 60-year-old trader in Reykjavik, the capital, which lies about forty kilometers northeast of the eruption.
Arnar Flokason, 37, works at the Svartsengi geothermal power plant, which is located two kilometers west of the eruption and supplies electricity and water to around 30,000 residents in the region.
Since November, the authorities have built a protective wall around the facility.
“I'm close to the rash, but it's OK. At the beginning it was big, but now it's small, I'm not worried,” said the father, whom we met in front of a school in the capital.
“It’s the norm”
For Helga Gudjonsdottir, a 33-year-old employee, “this is something that will stay that way in the coming years.” This will probably become normal for us and we will have to live with it.
“It will still be a tourist attraction. We hope this will stimulate the economy,” adds Lukasz Wrobel, originally from Poland and who has lived in Iceland for six years, where he runs a business.
Until the eruption in March 2021, the Reykjanes Peninsula, south of the capital Reykjavik, had been spared from eruptions for eight centuries.
Since then there have been three more, in August 2022 and July 2023 and this Monday evening, a sign for volcanologists of a resumption of volcanic activity in the region.
“I think this is not the new normal. “This is simply the norm for us Icelanders,” Icelandic Prime Minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir told reporters on Wednesday.
“We have had several cases of volcanic eruptions and it is part of our identity, the country in which we live. Of course, we are relatively used to it, but it is still difficult,” she added.
According to volcanologists, the new cycle on the peninsula could last decades.