Lava destroys Blue Lagoon parking lot in latest eruption on Reykjanes Peninsula, Iceland
Lava from a nearby volcanic flow consumed the entire parking lot of Blue Lagoon geothermal spa resort in Grindavik, Iceland, at 14:00 local time on November 21, 2024.
Blue Lagoon parking lot under lava on November 21, 2024. Image credit: mbl (stillshot)
The entire parking lot of Blue Lagoon geothermal spa resort near Grindavik, Reykjanes Peninsula, Iceland was consumed by lava around 14:00 local time (LT) on November 21, 2024.
Lava started flowing toward the resort around 12:00 LT and took about 2 hours to reach the parking lot. According to local media reports, a small service house near the lot was also burned.
At the moment, there are no indications that other structures of the Blue Lagoon or the power plant in Svartsengi are threatened by lava leakage.
Around 200 people were at the resort when the eruption began at 23:14 local time on November 20. They, along with all residents who had returned to Grindavik after the previous eruption in August, were evacuated overnight.
According to MBL, heavy-duty machines have been used during the night and morning to close the gaps in the defense both at the Bláalón road and then at the parking lots at the Bláa lónin.
Activity along the eruptive fissure has contracted by approximately 600 m (2 000 feet) from its southern end, the Icelandic Met Office (IMO) reported at 11:55 UTC.
The most active area is now around the central part of the fissure, between Stóri-Skógfell and Sýlingarfell. Lava crossed the Grindavík road around 04:30 this morning. Shortly before 08:00, the lava front also reached the hot water pipeline, the Njarðvík Line.
References:
1 Photos: The lava has entered the parking lot of the Blue Lagoon – mbl – November 21, 2024
2 Vaktin: Bílaplanið þakið hrauni – visir -November 21, 2024
3 Eruption on the Sundhnúkur Fissure Swarm – IMO – November 21, 2024
I'm a dedicated researcher, journalist, and editor at The Watchers. With over 20 years of experience in the media industry, I specialize in hard science news, focusing on extreme weather, seismic and volcanic activity, space weather, and astronomy, including near-Earth objects and planetary defense strategies. You can reach me at teo /at/ watchers.news.
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