Experts Tell Iceland To Prepare For A Bigger Volcanic Eruption

The Icelandic Meteorological Office is warning Iceland residents and tourists to prepare now for an even larger volcanic blast, claming the last one was big, but even bigger is coming.

This was stated in Bergrún Örna Óladóttir's speech, an expert at the Icelandic Meteorological Office, at an information meeting in connection with earthquakes on the Reykjanes Peninsula.

"Then there are actually possible dangers, or dangers and possible effects in and around Voga,” she said in an article on the topic. “That being said, we can get gas pollution and quite a lot of gas pollution. We may even have volcanic eruptions, we may have some fissure formations and we may have lava flows."

The Icelandic Meteorological Office has lava flow models that aim for the eruption to be in the same place as last time. The models show that lava would flow mostly down the slope towards Reykjanesbraut as well as electric water sources.

However, the impact to travel and tourism could be more from disruptions to air traffic from the smoke and steam.

"We also have to face the fact that the eruptions have been getting bigger and we have to be prepared for the next eruption to be even more powerful than the previous one." Therefore, it is very important to consider mitigation measures in relation to the most impactful scenarios,” she concluded.