Iceland builds giant walls to protect power plant as volcano threatens to erupt
Two giant walls are being built to hold back lava as Iceland fears the situation could “change suddenly with little warning”.
Yesterday the Icelandic Met Office said the risk of an eruption in the next few days remains “high”.
But civil protection bosses said they are ahead of time with barriers being built to protect a power plant and an abandoned town.
One wall is 26ft high to protect the plant and is being made in the mountains where they most fear an eruption, while the second is a 2.4mile semi-circle wall just above the stricken fishing town Grindavik.
Civil Protection chief Vidir Reynisson said their biggest challenge is if the lava destroys the Svartsengi geothermal plant – as they would be struggling for hot water. “We have plans for the electricity but still there is a lot of challenge around the hot water,” he admitted. “If we were to put electric heaters in all the homes in the area we would drain the power system just for that.”
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Quake damage in the town of Grindavik (Andy Commins / Daily Mirror)Around 30,000 people get their electricity and hot water from the plant on the Reykjanes peninsula near the capital Reykjavik.
Mr Reynisson admitted: “Nobody is going to have a normal Christmas in Grindavik,” and there could be disruption in the area for decades. But he said they are also looking at long-term planning in case they face the “unlikely scenario” the lava threatens a second town.
Evacuation plans have been drawn up for the town of Reykjanesbaer, which has a population of 22,000, but he says this area sits “outside the area which is prone to eruption”.
Geophysicist Benedikt Gunnar Ófeigsson, of the Icelandic Met Office, told the Mirror about the area 1.5miles away from the plant and the town, saying: “We see magma coming in at several levels and seismic activity associated with that.
Machinery at work digging the channels to control lava flow (Andy Commins / Daily Mirror)“While we are seeing these signals, we assume the probability of an eruption is high. The most likely scenario is an eruption there might last a few weeks.”
But tourists are being scared off over fears of an eruption. Arnar Mar Olafsson, of the Icelandic Tourist Board, said bookings are down.
Ten days ago 4,000 people were forced to flee Grindavik after earthquakes ripped apart roads and homes, prompting concern over the Fagradalsfjall volcano. The tourist boss said potential visitors feared a repeat of 2010 when an ash cloud grounded flights for 10 days.
But he said: “It is perfectly safe to come if you talk to aviation authorities. This is a very localised event so we do not expect this to disrupt travel.” The UK is the second biggest tourist group with 201,102 flying in this year.
Defence minister James Heappey offered assurances in the House of Commons that Christmas getaways will not be affected. He said: “I am told this ash is not the same as the last time and thus does not pose such a threat.”
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