News

People trickle home after hundreds forced to flee Iceland eruption

March 23, 2010 Edition 2

REYKJAVIK: Blasts of lava and ash shot out of a volcano in southern Iceland yesterday and small tremors rocked the ground, a surge in activity that raised fears of a larger explosion at the nearby Katla volcano.

Scientists say history has proved that when the Eyjafjallajokull volcano erupts, Katla follows - the only question is how soon. And Katla, located under the massive Myrdalsjokull icecap, threatens disastrous flooding and explosive blasts when it blows.

Saturday's eruption at Eyjafjallajokull, dormant for nearly 200 years, forced at least 500 people to evacuate. Most have returned to their homes, but authorities were waiting for scientific assessments to determine whether they were safe to stay. Residents of 14 farms nearest to the eruption site were told to stay away.

Several small tremors were felt early yesterday, followed by spurts of lava and steam rocketing into the air.

Iceland sits on a large volcanic hotspot in the Atlantic's mid-oceanic ridge. Eruptions, common throughout Iceland's history, are often triggered by seismic activity when Earth's plates move and when magma from deep underground pushes its way to the surface.

Iceland's Laki volcano erupted in 1783, freeing gases that turned into smog. The smog floated across the jet stream, changing weather patterns. Many died from gas poisoning in Britain.

Magnus Tumi Gudmundsson, a geologist at the University of Iceland who flew over the site yesterday, said the beginning of Saturday's eruption was so indistinct that it initially went undetected by geological instruments. - Sapa-AP